The World Only I Know
by IslandAlbatross
Summary: His life is empty, shattered, void. A young man whose world had come crashing down sought for an alternative in life. But what awaited him at the end of his struggle, he would never have thought possible... Later chapters are rated M.
1. Chapter 1: Transferal

**Chapter 1: Transferal**

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**_05:27 A.M,_ **A_ crop farm near the border of the Fukui Prefecture, Japan..._

"Come on, you can't honestly expect us to allow you to do this."

"Yeah. Do you know how much trouble we'll get into if anyone finds out?"

I'm surrounded by my last two friends, trying to prompt me out of my own decision...

"I'm doing it, you can't stop me." I replied coldly.

"Look, Jake, this is illegal!" Akira said, drafting a worried look. "Not only that, but you might die from this! What do you think this'll do to us, to your family?"

This is my friend, Akira-san. I met him in Tokyo when I first moved there a few years ago, back when** things** actually mattered. He decided to follow me and keep me company when I left due to... certain circumstances. And no, I'm not Japanese, my name should say as much. I moved here from Britain around 6 years ago, my head filled with aspirations... dreams... hopes for the future, but that all disappeared long ago, along with the rest of my world.

"I don't associate myself with them anymore; not since they made a pact with the Vialleno and started that accursed hunt," I retorted bluntly, a glint of repressed anger surfacing in my voice. "Besides, you both know that I've wanted to do this for a while now... whether I prove my theory right or die, it doesn't really matter to me anymore. I see no more joy for me in this world, only emptiness and solitude." I take a few steps forward, bringing myself closer to a machine in front of me

"Even so!" Tachida-san, my other friend, started, "If the Old man finds out you'll be in a lot of trouble!"

I sigh, looking upon him with tired eyes. This is Tachida-san, he's the only son of the farm owner here. He and his father were kind enough to let me and Akira-san live here, provided we offer free labour, of course.

"I won't be here after this experiment Tachida." You see, I used to spend my free time concocting theories and testing them with the laws of physics for fun. This just so happens to be one of those theories, and if my calculations are correct, then this experiment will have 3 possible outcomes. "If this transporter works, I'll be in another dimension far away from this one." That's the first possibility, standing at a mere 2.3% chance of occurrence.

"I- I know but-"

"If not," I cut him off, "Then my body will collapse from the pressure, causing me to die instantaneously. What will then happen to my body... I don't know." This is the second outcome, with approximately an 91.6% chance of happening. "And if that doesn't happen-"

"You'll be expelled from our dimension for breaking the laws of physics, but being left with nowhere to go. Resulting in becoming non-existent." Akira finished my sentence for me. This, ideally, has an 6.1% chance of happening, but oddly seems the most realistic.

"Precisely. This is why I'm not worried, Tachida. Nothing bad could happen to me." I turned my back to him and made my way to the machine's entrance, slipping on the suit I had prepared for this experiment.

He took a step closer to me. "Nothing bad? There's a zero percent chance of you ever returning! And even if that's what you want, you only have a slim chance of living afterwards! How is any of that good!?"

"Because my world has already ended..." I replied with venom. Those words left a nasty taste on my tongue, the truth hurting more than the malicious intent.

He didn't respond, instead he simply ran his eyes across my back in search of something, something to pull me back to his side. But after many painstaking moments he retired, lowering his head with a heavy sigh. "I'm not going to be able to change your decision, am I?" He glanced back up at me, hoping for a last minute change of heart.

"I'm glad you're beginning to see sense now." I kept my back to him and turned to face Akira, allowing him the displeasure of seeing my resolve one last time.

"So this is it... where our life ends." Akira approached me, his eyes welling up with tears. He embraced me, letting his emotions pour out onto my body. "I- I'm going to miss you, Senpai. You've been my greatest friend, and an irreplaceable mentor. Because of you my life has changed in ways indescribable." He tried to say more but his voice cracked beyond recognition. After a few more seconds he pulled away, tears streaming down his face. " A-are you sure you don't want me to tell the others? I should still have some of their contact details somewhere-"

"No." My words still cold and unsentimental. "I decided to leave the broken pieces of my life behind, **they** are no exception. The only reason that you're still with me is because I simply needed scientific help with this, nothing more."

He just looked at me... and smiled.

The damn fool, even after I said that to him he still believes that I'm his friend. I wanted him to at least feel a little less amicable before I left, to minimize his pain.

"Okay, I understand." A somewhat content tone left his lips. And that was the last thing I heard from him... ever.

Acknowledging his response as a symbol of his insignificant consent, I turn my back on him and focus on my creation.

Now within arm's reach of this contraption, I place my hand on the outer rim of its circular opening. The opening itself spanned a 75cm radius and supported three differing switches, each at a different point on the rim. With a click of one of the buttons, an invisible 'portal' appeared in the gap, boasting an amazingly strong force that pulled everything nearby to its center. This machine... enabled the travel out of our space-time continuum. By speeding an object or person beyond the speed of light, you would enable time travel in the opposing direction in which we naturally flow. By continuing to speed up said object, it would start to travel back in time at a greater rate, until it reached the point where a further increase in speed would be impossible. This is for a very simple reason: terminal velocity. But I found a way to escape this setback. Five years ago, a fifth sate of matter was accidentally discovered when the Division for Planetary Science peaked in budget and sent several probes to outside of our solar system. Naturally, this increase in budget is old news, but the discovery of how to create conditions allowing for this matter to form on Earth is not. Through disgusting connections which I'd rather forget, I was able to obtain some of this matter and its artificial enclosure, but for observing purposes only. But after research on this new form continued, I, and much of the world, found that it had a very close connection to the spacial plane around us, almost as if 'space' itself was a key component of this matter's structure.

Using this information, I was able to construct both this machine and the suit I'm wearing. The machine uses simple physics on a drastic scale to propel anything placed in it to unbelievable speeds; while this suit utilizes the matter's spacial properties to embed my very being within a chunk of 'space'. While like this, 'I' won't actually be moving, meaning that I gain no air resistance and my mass never increases. But in my place, the 'space' around me shall be propelled at the speed allowed by the machine; and since space cannot be affected by forces such as air resistance and gravity, it will never gain or lose speed. This means that I've simply to hope that this machine can accelerate me beyond the point in which terminal velocity would normally halt me, otherwise I'll be moving endlessly until I eventually collide with an object and die.

I take a deep breath, staring into the seemingly empty void of my machine. This gateway means so much to me... a gateway to escape from everything... this mundane life... my never-ending suffering... this broken, messed up world, where I owned not even the smallest leisure.

My lips bent slightly into a smile, something I hadn't done in years. I braced myself, ready to take what I've spent years yearning for, for myself. Without looking back, I gave my friends one final instruction, one to finalize our severance. "Once I pass through, destroy it. Bury the pieces where no-one will find them."

I never did bother checking if they agreed to do so, it wouldn't be any weight on my shoulders if they didn't. All that mattered was that I was able to break free.

"And with that thought, I stepped into my escape... only to be surprised at what awaited me on the other side..."

**"The date is Thirteenth of May, 2026." **

* * *

_..._

_...I can't move..._

_...Am I dead...?_

_Hehe... guess it didn't work... after all..._

A low murmur flowed around me, the noise barely audible to my ears.

_...Hmm? Voices...? Then, I'm not dead?_

The murmur continued. I caught the odd words said, but my brain couldn't process them.

_...Maybe I'm just a consciousness now? No... my body aches. That's proof enough that I'm real..._

"...-o the palace!"

_A palace...? So... that means it worked? I traveled to another dimension?_

A splitting pain razed through my brain, delaying any and all thought processes.

_Guh...__ my head hurts... I can't think straight..._

Slowly, my mental state started to deteriorate, my senses, though already lacking, began to fade away. The last thing I can recall before blacking out is a tugging sensation on my arms, as if I were being dragged somewhere. Needless to say, everything after is a blank space in my memory.

* * *

**_? ?:? ?, _**_?, ?, ?..._

I slowly open my eyes, an awful pain ripping through my head as the harsh whiteness of light burnt its existence into my retinas. Immediately I re-close my eyes and wince, the pain slowly fading after a few seconds pass.

"Hm? I see you're awake now, our mysterious guest."

Startled from the alien voice, I steadily lift my head to its source and try my luck at regaining vision again. Slowly, my eyes started to adjust to the area's light intensity, a mysterious figure forming before me. Once the image had been fully processed, I found myself unable to think clearly again; not through pain or some other affliction, however, but through pure shock.

"Now," the regal figure spoke gently, her voice soothing my frantic state of mind. "I'd like to ask you a few questions."

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**Author's note:**

**Okay, I finally motivated myself enough to write this. ****This is my first attempt at any form of (non-academic) literary work so don't expect it to be good :P This just came from a dream I had a few days ago, so I thought that I may as well use it as a story and see where it goes.**

**Review on the good, the bad, and the myeh!**

**Bye bi!**


	2. Chapter 2: A Few Surprises

**Author's note: Well here's chapter 2 :) As promised this one is much...kind of...a little longer than the last...by 208 words...**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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I couldn't believe it, before my eyes stood an Alicorn. A mythical beast among mythical beasts. A Unicorn, Pegasus or even a Dragon would be outrageous enough to witness alone, but THIS!

"Hm-hm. Still a little sleepy are we?" The Alicorn chuckled, presenting a kind smile.

My mouth molded itself diversely several times, trying to get words out but with no prevail. It would seem that my body took some serious damage...but how? What did I do?

"Here," The Creature approached me, lowering its head at mine. Before I could even process her coming closer, a bright yellow light enveloped my body, the source of which was the tip of her horn. I felt a tingling feeling shiver throughout my entire being, and, without thought, stood up. My body had been healed. "Better?"

I lifted my head to face her, yet again my mouth moving but no sound escaping my lips, only this time through utter shock.

"You _can_ speak to me, you know. After all, I have quite a few questions that I wish to ask you." She said, gracefully smiling at me again.

Every thought, every word that I wanted to let out just kept building behind my mute mouth, until it eventually burst forth, filling the room with my voice.

"What the hell are you!? How're you talking!? WHY'RE you talking!? You're an Alicorn! You don't exist! Was that magic!? How am I healed!? Where am I!? How'd I get here!? You can talk! Why can you talk!?" I stood there gasping for air, until yet another shock hit me. Slowly realising the gradient at which I was holding my head. "And you're giant! How'd you get so big!?"

The Alicorn seemed rather taken back by my sudden series of outbursts, her eyes open wide and her head shifted slightly behind the vertical line of her shoulders.

"Well, you certainly are a loud one. My name is Princess Celestia, my sister Luna and I govern this land and our subjects. So may I ask for your name?" She leaned her head forward, silently pushing me for an answer.

_My name? ...What is my name? Oh crap, I can't remember! Do I have amnesia!?_

"Oh, of course. It probably feels a little awkward with all of these guards standing around." She smiled at me and nodded her head past me. I turned to see dozens of Stallions stood alongside each other, just in front of pillars which formed a small "hall" down the centre of the room, accommodated by a red carpet. At the entrance stood two Stallions who nodded their heads and proceeded out of the room, the rest following in close couplets. Wait...they're wearing armour! Why're they wearing armour!? Is there a war? A feud? Wait, now that I look closer...some of them have wings! Pegasi!? Unicorns too! Some have horns! There are mythical beasts everywhere, this place is amazing! And the others, let's see they have...neither? ...Why does the norm stick out here...? I turned to the Princess yet again to inquire further, but only to be spoken to before managing to speak. "Feeling more comfortable?"

"Uh, yeah." _Actually, I feel even more nervous, what the hell kind of place is this...?_

"So?"

"Umm...what?" I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Your name? You do have one, correct?" Her smile never faded, almost like a brilliantly shining Sun. It put me at ease and made speaking a bit easier.

"Y-yeah, I have one..." I paused, looking to the side awkwardly before returning my gaze to Celestia, _Corpus Callosum... _"It's Corpus Callosum." I nodded confidently. _Is the part of the brain that enhances connection between the two main lobes. ..._What the hell brain!? Why remember that but not my name!? The crap sort of messed up thought processes do you get!?

"Corpus Callosum? That certainly is a unique name, but what's your real one?"

My face slightly contorted in shock._ H-how did she know!?_

She beamed yet another gentle smile at me, "I can read minds." She held her head in confidence.

I'm yet again at a loss for words, and _yet_ again I still manage to speak. "Y-you can read minds!? How!?"

Celestia simply smiled to herself and looked to be containing some laughter, "I can't. Forgive me, I simply couldn't resist having some fun with you." She turned around and brought over a quill and some scrolls from beside the throne, the aura from her magic doing the work for her as she walked towards a corridor leading off to the right... Wait... she can do that too? Huh, that'd be quite a helpful ability, magic. "Please follow me, we'll take a walk around as I ask you questions. I have a lot I want to know after all."

I followed her into the hallway, walking besides her as we progressed past a few rooms.

"So, what did you want to know?"

"Hmm, I think I'll start with why you didn't tell me your name." She prepared the quill to the paper.

"Uh, well..." How do I put this? "I... can't remember..." I looked at her sheepishly.

"Okay." The quill began scribbling on the paper. "How about where you come from? Do you remember that?"

"...No. I don't." I began feeling somewhat depressed, not knowing who I was or where I came from.

"Relatives or friends?"

"None that I know of." The sound of the quill scratching proof of my lack of knowledge onto her document just made me sink deeper into my depressed state.

Her Q and A session continued on for a while longer before she finally had all of her questions answered.

"Okay, though I haven't learnt too much about you," My head sank in self disappointment, "I think I know what to do with you now. But first," The scroll rolled itself up and disappeared inside her mane... what? "Do you have any questions for me?" I lifted my head back up to look at her, seeing a delighted look upon her face... I'm... guessing she found out something she liked...? I dunno.

Anyway, it really didn't take long for a few questions to come to mind, especially seeing as I had shouted some of them out earlier. "Well, just a few."

She nodded her head, giving me consent to ask.

"Where am I?"

Celestia looked at me with the slightest expression of shock growing on her face. "You mean you don't know? Even though you're in its capital?"

For whatever reason, I felt guilty for not knowing. "Unfortunately not..."

"Well, you are now in Canterlot, the capital city of the land of Equestria. Me and my sister Luna reside here in this castle, as the joint rulers of Equestria."

"Okay," I nodded "So what about those guards? Are you in a war or a struggle with another nation?"

"Hm? Oh my, no." Celestia chuckled to herself, "It's just old Canterlot tradition to have guards occupy the Palace during day hours and to patrol the halls at night. Like how it is tradition to give your special somepony a gift on Heart and Hooves day."

Somepony? Did she mean Somebody? And what's Hearts and Hooves day? Ah well, I'll find out later. There are more important things to know about. "This is going to sound a little silly, especially considering how this is called Equestria but, is everyone a horse?"

"Pony. Everypony is a pony, yes. Although among us are-"

"Unicorns, Pegasi and Alicorns, right? I saw the guards with wings and horns." I instinctively finished off her sentence, only just realizing afterward that I had just silenced royalty. "Ah! Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's quite alright. And yes, Unicorns, Pegasi and Alicorns. Although you missed out Earth Ponies." Her eyes glanced over to me as we continued to walk down various hallways through the castle.

"Earth Ponies? Are they made out of clay?" What could they be to earn "Earth" in front of their race's name?

"No, of course not. They're simply ponies whom have neither wings nor horns. Meaning that they can't fly like a Pegasus can nor can they use magic like a Unicorn's able to. But they're still not to be underestimated. It's because of them that Pegasi and Unicorns were able to survive for so long without indulging in agricultural and horticultural practices." Her gaze returned to the hall in front of us.

"Oh, I see." Feeling like an idiot for asking that one..." Then what about Alicorns? Can you tell me about them?"

Celestia stopped and looked over at me with worried eyes. "Are you sure you know nothing? Despite being one yourself?"

I mimicked her motion and brought myself to a halt. "What do you mean? I'm a human." I looked at her strangely, wondering why she thought that I was a creature as rare as an Alicorn. It's crazy enough that just she exists. It'd just be plain stupid if I were one too.

Her look grew increasingly concerned, her eyes feeling like they were penetrating my body. "No, I'm certain that you're an Alicorn. It's extremely hard to mistake somepony for one, we're a _very _and unmistakable species." _But a human...? I haven't heard that term in a long, long time..._

"Look," I stood on two legs, and held my arms out, "I'm clearly a hu-" Wait...two legs? Wasn't I on two legs all this time? I look down at myself, I see...oh dear God... "I-I'm a...a... PONY!?"

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**Well that's chapter two for ya. I spent all night on this one, didn't go to sleep until 4 A.M XD I _WAS_ going to go to bed, until I got an E-mail notification telling me that someone had favourited my story. Then I got fuelled by Pinkie-level excitement and couldn't stop :D**

**Anyway, read review and criticise! (Seriously, the buzz from it is ecstatic!)**


	3. Chapter 3: Going Manestream

**Author's note: Ta da! Chapter 3 is here! Now this one is DEFINATELY longer than Chapters 1 and 2 :)**

**I'm still getting a buzz from people favouriting, reviewing and even following! Thank you for the support you're beginning to build! :D**

**Enjoy!**

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_Brown hooves and fur...? I really became a pony... but why?_

I stared down at myself as I lowered again onto all fours, astonished beyond belief at my transformation from a handed, bipedal primate to a four-legged vegetarian farm animal.

"Hmm...I've never heard of a case where somepony has forgotten their race. This certainly is a very rare occurrence, but I don't think that you're under any kind of illness, I would have noticed when I used my magic earlier otherwise." Celestia began walking again, and soon turned to a door which she promptly opened with her magic. She proceeded into the room, with me silently following after her.

I was blown away from the room's interior, books, books and more books! A lifetime's worth of knowledge and more gathered around on the shelves surrounding me, this must be the castle's archives. Every subject thought possible had several books dedicated to it, Science, Agriculture, Magic, Literary Masterpieces Through the Ages, History, Wars, Culture, Algorithms, Star Swirl the Bearded...whoever that is... and even Dragons! Ahead of me I saw Celestia taking a book off of a shelf and opening it up on a square table in a small clearing, where several rows of book shelves spread out from in a circular fashion. As I approached her I noticed a mirror built into the side of one of the book shelves, taking a few steps towards it I peered into it to see my reflection. I began twisting and turning to get a proper look at myself.

I had a Grounded Brown coat over my body, my horn and wings were also hued in the same colour. My mane was styled in a somewhat familiar fashion, kinda scruffy but still seeming under control. My horn sticking out from underneath it too. My tail was in the same state, only it looked slightly more natural. Both my mane and my tail were a rich auburn colour and so they'd probably turn more orange in the sunlight. But there was one feature to my appearance that seemed somewhat alien to me, my eyes. I stared harder into the mirror, glistening green pools returning the same look back into my eyes. I can't remember what I looked like as a human, but I'm fairly sure my eyes weren't green. But somehow, they're complementing the colour of my mane rather nicely...

Satisfied at knowing what I looked like, I walked up to Celestia and stood next to her. I was about to ask what she was looking for, until I saw the pure concentration in her eyes as they carefully analysed the page, searching deeply for whatever information she wanted... I'll take it that I'm not needed here...

I made my way over to a random shelf, to look for something to pass the time. "Hmm... I wonder if there's anything that I'll enjoy over here. Let's see, Equestria Daily, The Legend of Derpy Hooves: Magenta's Muffin, Photo Finish: Never stop strutting..." I mumbled the titles of many others for mements to come, before coming across one that caught my eye, "'Basic magic: The complete Guide for Beginners.' Huh, this should be good, I'll be able to learn how to levitate things!" I stood on my hind legs and reached for the book, I placed my hoof on its spine and tried to pull it out. "Huh? Why can't I- oh, of course! Hooves!" I tried again and again, each time I simply end up stroking the book as my hoof slid off it. "Why're these things so useless!? They serve no practical purpose!" I got up to try again, but this time I aimed to land my hoof on top of the book and pull it off... only to find out that I couldn't reach high enough, because of my new pony body being too small to reach the top of the spine.

* * *

Celestia was reading through the book she had previously pulled out, whilst Jake was repeatedly trying to grab a book for himself but continuously failed. Each time throwing a miniature tantrum out of frustration. Celestia sighed, not having any leads to whatever she was looking for, "The 'H' section didn't have anything to do with humans at all. Hmm... guess I'll try the index..." The Alicorn flipped over several hundred pages with her magic, bringing the flipping to an almost immediate halt. "Ah, 'Human'. See 'Centaur' on page 58." Celestia used her magic to flip the pages back over until she arrived at her desired point. "Hmm, Centaurs. Ancient creatures of lore, said to be a cross-breed between pony and a strange mythical creature known as a human. They can be very elusive and somewhat violent creatures when provoked, they also tend to live separately from each other to avoid pointless, instinctive fights for supremacy or territory. It has the appearance of a pony for its lower body but the figure of a human for its upper body. Because of this human upper part, they are able to use magic on the same level as a Unicorn, making them very dangerous to encounter. The last one sighted was in the Everfree forest 20 years ago, but it is believed that up to around 50 more still exist within the Forest's shadows."

Celestia smiled and closed her book. _Hmm... Corpus was already quite an interesting subject, but_ **_this_** _is just purely astounding. I guess that I'll begin to look up a bit more on Centaurs myself. But in the meantime,__ I think I may observe him for a while, he may bring something unexpected to Equestria. After all, he's already the cause of **that**. Hmm, I suppose it'll be worth having **her** look at him too, just to get another insight on him and anything he does._ She continued grinning with a small sense of excitement and brought the scroll out of her mane and an off-screen quill flew in. Celestia began writing a message, the quill scratching against the parchment as her thoughts were transferred onto the page. When she was finished the scroll disappeared in a brief light.

* * *

I sat on the floor, staring at the book that had escaped my grasp with anger-filled eyes. "Fine! Let's see how you like it when I choose a different book instead!" With that I got up and walked away from the shelf I had clambered on countless times, each one being a vain attempt to learn magic. I returned with the book "The Four Types of Pony" in my mouth and lay on the ground below my nemesis. Using my nose I flipped over to the contents page, my eyes scrolled down through the topics until they reached the label 'The Alicorns, Page 16'. "Hm, that's right. I still don't know anything about Alicorns yet. Seeing as I'm one of them now, I should probably learn a little bit about them." I flipped to the page with my nose and began reading.

_"Alicorns are the fourth and by far the rarest off all pony kind. Being able to utilise strong magic and fly at close to unparalleled_  
_speed with their superior wings, they are considered the strongest of all ponies. It is also a well known fact that_  
_Alicorns only exist within the Royal Family of Equestria. But even though they're considered the Royal race of_  
_ponies, the earliest known Alicorn is said to have only been noticed 1000 years ago; much,_  
_much later than the other types of ponies that live in Equestria."_

"What? Then how am I one? I'm not of royal blood, I'm a human. Maybe there's something more about them written in here..." I began skim-reading, looking for any information that would explain my transformation.

I could hear foot- err... hoof-steps approaching me, I looked up from my book to see Celestia standing in front of me. "Well, shall we go?" She asked, beaming her signature smile at me.

I looked at her in confusion, "Where to?"

"Just a small town. But don't worry, it's a nice place where everypony's kind."

"Umm, okay? What're we going their for?" I closed my book and got up again.

"Oh, not we, just you."

"Just me? But I don't even know where it is. How am I supposed to get there?"

"I'll call for a Pegasi carriage for you. You'll also be required to wear a cloak, to hide your wings from the others. We'll have to keep the fact that you're an Alicorn hidden from civilians for now, it may cause a bit of an uproar if a supposed member of the Royal family that's never been seen before just appeared from out of the blue." She walked past me and towards the door, I picked up the book in my mouth and followed.

"Uhm, Sheleshtia?" She stopped and looked at me, to which I stopped and put the book on the ground. "Would it be okay if I borrowed this book?"

"Why of course. Why not carry it with magic though? It'd be far more convenient than using your mouth."

"Well actually, I don't know how to use magic. I was trying to grab a book about magic basics earlier but I couldn't reach it..." My ears flopped down as I went to pick up the book. Only for it to move out of the way and then float above me, suspended by Celestia's magic.

"Here," Celestia moved the book to my back and withdrew her magic, "There's a bag in the room opposite this one. Feel free to wander around this floor of the castle a little and get yourself ready, I'll call the carriage in 10 minutes." And with that, Celestia left.

* * *

"Whew," Twilight put a duster on the side of a drawer and stood back at the door and looked at her sparkling clean home, "Well Spike, you can take a rest."

"Thank goodness, I don't think I can stand anymore dusting." Spike said, his arms hanging with a duster in them.

"Now that the library's been dusted and the books have been alphabetized, what say we get something to eat?" Twilight turned for the door, looking over her shoulder at Spike.

"Oh boy! Let's go to the place that does the hay fries!" Spike ran to the door and stood next to Twilight as they departed. " Y'know, I wonder if they do rubies now? Uomph!" Spike's cheeks inflated and he let out a belch of green fire, a letter then materializing in front of Twilight.

"A letter from the Princess? I wonder what she needs." Twilight began reading the letter,

_My most faithful Student, Twilight:_

_I have met somepony whom I think you and your friends would very much enjoy meeting. It would delight me if you  
and your friends could meet him soon. I have sent him on his way to your house by Pegasi carriage, so I expect him to reach you in about 20 minutes.  
He currently doesn't know anypony and so I thought it best that you and your friends became the first friends he made.  
So please send a letter out to them asking that they meet at your house in half an hour._

"So what does it say?" Spike stood next to Twilight, trying to look at the letter.

"She says that she's met somepony who she wants us to meet. Do you think you can send a letter to the girls, telling them to meet us here in half an hour?"

"Sure thing Twilight." Spike pulled out a scroll and a quill from behind his back and began writing down Twilight's message. Twilight continued reading Celestia's message as she and Spike continued to the cafe,

_He isn't your normal pony, however, but I think that you'll also find him almost as interesting as I do. But before you all meet him,  
I think it'd be best that you met him before the others do. He'll have a letter in his saddlebag that I want you to read, he has no idea it's there so don't tell him. On that letter are some instructions which will be critical for you to follow._

_Your dearest Teacher,  
- Princess_ Celestia.

Spike took a deep breath in and let out a breath of fire, igniting the letters and sending them to their desired locations. "Done."

"Good work Spike, now let's go eat!" Twilight galloped off into town, Spike following close behind her licking his lips.

* * *

"Alright." I strapped my saddlebag onto my back and made my way to the castle's front doors, where a carriage pulled by two Pegasi was waiting for me.

"All set, Corpus?" Celestia approached me from behind.

"Yep." I turned around to face her, "So, where am I going exactly? I know you said it was a small town but I was kinda hoping for a name... and you forgot to tell me why I'm going..."

"So I did!" Celestia giggled a little, " You're going to a lovely little place called Ponyville. You're going there to live for a little while. You see, Ponyville is very diverse and has lots of different kinds of Ponies, jobs and cultures going around. Maybe being in an environment like that will trigger some of your memories. I've also sent one of my students a letter informing her of your arrival, she'll supply you with hospitality for the time being."

"Oh, thank you!" I made my way over to the carriage and climbed on board.

"Oh, before you leave Corpus. I have a small request to ask of you."

I turned on my seat to listen to Celestia's request. "Do you think you could send me letters to let me know how you're doing? And if any of your memories come back? My student has an assistant that'll take care of sending the letters, so you don't have to worry about doing that. But do try and keep the content of the letters a secret, it could be bad if anypony were to find out. "

"Sure thing. I'll be sure to keep you updated. Thanks for helping me out whilst I was here." I gave her a smile before turning back around. The carriage took off and I was now on my way to Ponyville.

* * *

_20 minutes later..._

I put on the cloak Celestia gave me, concealing my wings beneath it as the carriage began to descend towards a big tree. Once the carriage had come to a halt I stepped off, meeting a purple Unicorn who was stood in front of the tree which... has a door...why...?

"Hello, I'm guessing you're the one who The Princess wanted me to meet?" The purple Unicorn approached me and held out a hoof, "My name's Twilight Sparkle, what's yours?"

_Crap! Not again! C'mon brain, think of something! _

_(Corpus Callosum)_

_ No! I'm not using that again! _

_(Aww, come on... I worked really hard to recall that information, so now you're going to just throw it away? You can't even think of a name yourself , this is better than what you could make up!__)_

_ Alright, fine! I'll use "Corpus Callosum"._

_ (Yay!)_

"Umm...hello? You in there?" Twilight tilted her head to one side, "What's your name?"

"Huh? Oh, it's Corpus Callosum. Nice to meet you." I held out my hoof and Twilight shook it, which kinda scared me a little. _How did she do that!? How did she grab my hoof with her's!? There's nothing there to grab or grab with! _After breaking away from the hoof-shake, Twilight walked towards the door in the tree.

"Come inside, I'll put on some tea." Twilight looked back to me as she said this.

"Wait, you live in the tree?" I approached the door, which swung open with a purple aura surrounding it; surprising me, I forgot Unicorns could use magic...

"Well actually it's a library, but yes." I followed Twilight as she made her way inside the tree. Surprised by how clean and organised the inside was, it was almost like it had been cleaned prior to my arrival!

"Feel free to look around while I make you a drink. My assistant Spike is upstairs, I think he's talking to Owlowicious. You can leave your saddlebag on the side there." Twilight walked into the kitchen to prepare the tea.

"Hmm, I suppose a quick look around won't hurt." I took off my saddlebag and began to look at the decorations in the main room, taking note of their unique detail before making my way over to the bookshelves, taking a gander through its contents. "Wow, I'm guessing Ponies like being very knowledgeable .. maybe everyone's a genius? Twilight seemed really intelligent, as did Celestia..." _Oh God...what if they're all super smart and I'm left here being average!?_

Twilight Poked her head out from behind the door to see Jake looking at the books stacked on the shelves. She crept out and came up to his saddlebag, taking another look at him to make sure she was undetected. Once close enough, she opened up the bag and took out the scroll written about in Celestia's letter and quickly took it back with her to the kitchen. She opened it up and began to read it... her eyes soon widening in shock as she took in Celestia's words...

* * *

**Phew, this one took a while to write. I was planning on making it a bit longer but then it'd be too long to get done by today in my tight schedule XD**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Please review and criticize! :)**

**See ya tomorrow! **


	4. Chapter 4: The Mane Event

**Author's note: And now for Chapter 4!**

**I released this one quite a bit later than the others simply because I fell asleep before starting it :3**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy! :D**

* * *

_My most faithful Student, Twilight:_

_I'm afraid I had another reason for sending Corpus to you. You see, he is apparently, or rather was, originally a 'human'. I  
did a bit of research on what a 'human' is and have discovered that they are somewhat related to Centaurs. Learning this, I'm sure that you'll now find him  
just about as interesting as I do and probably have a lot of questions needing answers. But for now, I wish  
to give you a very important task..._

* * *

Twilight continued to read the scroll, making sure to pay careful attention to Celestia's instructions. Her mouth standing agape when she had finished, "...What? This doesn't make sense! Some of the stuff asked in here is impossible to do! Whilst I agree that some parts may very well be true, it's still a huge surprise..."

"What's a huge surprise?"

Twilight lashed around quickly, hiding the scroll behind her as she turned to the owner of the voice. "Wha- Pinkie!?"

"Ooo! Is it about that letter you sent!? There's a new pony right!? I saw them as I walked past but they looked busy. I wanna meet them! Are they in there?"

"Pinkie."

"Let's throw a party! I'll invite EVERYPONY in Ponyville and it'll be fanTAStic!"

"Pinkie!"

*Very, very audible gasp* "We should make it a SURPRISE party!" Pinkie shouted, bouncing up and down with enough energy to fuel a plane.

"PINKIE!"

"Yes Twilight?" Pinkie stopped bouncing and stood still, excitement still emanating from her figure.

"Why're you here? We're not supposed to meet up for another ten minutes."

"Oh! Well I just couldn't WAIT to see the new pony! You see I know everypony in Ponyville and when a new pony comes in I don't know them so I have to know who they are to still know everypony in Ponyville and that just makes me SO EXCITED I can barely contain myself so I have to throw them a HUGE welcome party to let them know that they're welcome to stay and become my bestest friends an-!" Twilight placed her hoof on Pinkie's mouth to stop her from talking.

"Okay, I know what you're getting at. But how did you get in? All of the doors are closed." Twilight lowered her hoof to the floor.

"Hm? Oh, that's easy! I just used the window!" Pinkie began jumping up and down again.

"Wha-? P-Pinkie, why not just knock on the door like a normal pony?" Twilight began to look at Pinkie in a concerned fashion.

"I just told you silly, I'm far too excited to waste time doing stuff. I've gotta go and get the party set up!" Pinkie bounced toward the kitchen door and exited it, almost bumping into Jake as she flew through it.

"Wah! What the hell?" Jake jumped back as the pink blur scarcely missed him, falling on his flank in the process.

Pinkie stopped in her tracks and turned to the strange Unicorn she'd never seen before. "Oh! You're the new pony! I can tell because I've never seen you before and I know everypony in Ponyville so anypony I don't know must be new which makes me SO EXCITED that I can barely contain myself! Anyway I have to go, I'll see you later at your surprise party! Oh wait! I wasn't supposed to let you know that we were holding you a surprise party at the Sugarcube Corner in 30 minutes! So just forget it okay? See you at the part- oops. I mean- see you later! Teehee!" Pinkie zoomed off out of the door and far out of sight.

"...What WAS that!?" I turned to Twilight, "Did i just imagine that?"

"No, that was just Pinkie. She climbed in through the window earlier." Twilight walked closer to me, helping me back up.

"Through the window...?" I looked at her with concerning eyes.

"Yeah... she can get a little hyper at times."

I chuckled, "A little?"

Twilight smiled back, giggling a little too. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. But that's why we love her. So, did you take a look around?"

"Yeah, well except for upstairs. I didn't want to disturb your assistant and Owl...Owlo..."

"Owlowicious." Twilight finished off my sentence.

"That's the one. So what was Pinkie saying about a party?"

"Oh, well she holds parties for everypony new to here. They're actually really good though so I think you'll enjoy it later."

"Mm... not too sure, I'm not really fond of parties. But I'll see how it goes, can't decide if I dislike something before I try it." I laughed rather nervously, I hate parties. Well, I have a feeling that I do. I just don't really like the idea of being surrounded by dozens of others and being forced to talk to them... "So who am I going to meet in a few minutes? Celestia said something about some of your friends coming too."

"Well you've already met Pinkie Pie. She's the most hyperactive and fun-loving out of all of us."

"I'd be pretty worried if she wasn't..." I shuddered at the thought of meeting someone with more energy and excitement than Pinkie.

Twilight shook the thought out of her head, it seems she's pretty scared of that too. "Yeah, thank Celestia she's the only one. But I suppose that's why we love her." Twilight chuckled to herself a little.

Fair enough, "So there's Pinkie..."

Twilight picked up on my hint and continued, "And Fluttershy, the kindest of us as well as the most caring. But she's extremely timid so be careful around her, okay?"

I nodded my head. "Gotcha."

"Then there's Applejack, she's by far the most dependable of ponies and a great friend who's never afraid to step in to help. She's also really honest and hard-working, she spends most of her time on the family farm bucking apples."

"Bucking apples?" I repeated, a hint of confusion in my voice.

"Yeah, it's getting apples out of trees by bucking it hard enough that the vibrations cause the apple stems to weaken and snap."

Cripes! I wouldn't want to get hit my a buck like that! "T-that's a pretty strong buck."

"And she can keep it up all day." Twilight declared, a large sense of pride in her voice.

"Are there any others?"

"Well next is Rainbow Dash, an amazingly fast Pegasus. She's possibly one of the fasted flyers in Equestria, quite a remarkable feat if you ask me."

"Mm, I agree."

"She's also always looking for competition in just about anything and hates to lose. She's the most loyal friend you could ask for, if you're ever in trouble she'll fearlessly come and rescue you." Again, Twilight seemed to have a bit of pride mixed in there. Don't blame her though, I'd like a friend like that...  
"And last but certainly not least is Rarity. She's a very kind pony and is always willing to help and give what's necessary to others. She owns a boutique just down the road, she makes dresses, suits and all other kinds of clothing for her customers. Her determination for her customers and friends is also quite astounding, in the past she made 2 dresses for each of us for the Grand Galloping Gala... all in one day! We felt really bad for pushing off her original ideas, but she came through for us and forgave us."

I can tell Twilight's really fond of her friends, she's smiling like a child that just got the gift they've always wanted for Christmas. Well, I'm feeling less nervous about meeting them now anyway.

Twilight's smile calmed down a little and looked at me. "Um, do you want to take your cloak off? It's a little wierd to be wearing it indoors."

I broke out into a cold sweat immediately after she said that, "U-umm... n-no thanks. I like this cloak, it...uh...feels comfortable...?" I'm absolutely crap at lying...

Twilight gave me an odd look but was cut short by a knocking on the door. "Oh, that must be them." She trotted over to the door and used her magic to twist the nob and open it, "Come on in girls, there's somepony I'd like you to meet."

Ponies started to come in one after another.

"Well Howdy there Twahlight." An orange mare was the first one in, she had a country accent and wore a stetson... didn't know they had those here.

"Yeah, good to see ya Twilight!" A cyan Pegasus with a rainbow coloured mane flew in, hovering in mid-air...bet I can tell who she is.

"Yes, it's simply been too long darling. We really should meet up more often." Next a white Unicorn walked in, she seemed pretty and very upper-class. Especially with her curled mane and done-up eyes. But because she's friends with these three I'm guessing that she doesn't care about class too much. Or maybe they just don't have social classes here? I'll have to ask later. Going by what Twilight said, I'm guessing this one's Rarity.

"Yeah, we should all come over to Sugarcube Corner and party!" I know this one well enough... I may get used to her, everyone else has after all.

"We're going over in half an hour Pinkie. _Remember?" _Rainbow glared at Pinkie as if she were pretty unimpressed.

"Oh yeah! Silly me!" Pinkie bonked herself on the head and stuck her tongue out.

"Oh no, it's not your fault Pinkie. Everypony forgets things, I think your party will be wonderful." A yellow Pegasus with a long pink mane covering her eyes and a very soft and quiet voice walks in last, rather slowly too. I take it she's Fluttershy and that the orange Mare is Applejack.

Twilight walked in-between them all and began speaking, "Alright everypony, I called you all here to meet someone very special. Please give a warm welcome to Corpus Callosum. He was sent here by Princess Celestia to make some friends, and she thought that it'd be best if we were his first friends."

Applejack came up to me and grabbed my hoof, shaking it quite viciously. I closed my eyes, trying to hold in the pain, "Well howdy there. Mah name's Applejack, part of the Apple family here in Ponyville. Glad to meetcha." When she finally stopped shaking my hoof my foreleg fell down, numbness pulsing through it.

"You remember me right?" I opened my eyes and saw Pinkie's face right up against mine.

"Wah!" I stumbled backwards, falling over for the second time today. "Yep, definitely remember you Pinkie." I cautiously stood back up.

"Well of course you would, it's only been five minutes after all." She began bouncing...again... "Hey, do you think we could party now? You know like have music and a DJ and snacks and Ooh! Cake! Lots and lots of cake! And candy and party poppers and streamers! And we could-mmph!"

Applejack placed a hoof on Pinkie's back and one over her mouth. "Hold your horses there Pinkie Pie." Hehe, I wonder if she realises what she just said? "Ah think you're going too fast fer the poor fella to keep up."

"Oh, okay! So is that a 'Yes' on the party now?"

"Um... think it'd be best to wait until after introductions." I replied nervously, I've still no idea how I should talk to this pony...

"Okey Dokey then!" Pinkie jumped merrily back to the others and watched. Only there were 3 of them there...

"Hey." Hearing a call come from the ceiling, I look up to see Rainbow flying above me, she then swiftly swooped down and landed in front of me. I stumbled back a bit after being startled. "The name's Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria. But I'm sure you've heard of me." She lifted her chest and struck a confident pose, guessing she likes attention.

"Yeah, Twilight told me a little bit about you before you showed up." I feel a little odd talking to her, almost nostalgic...

"Oh really? So what did my friend here tell you about me?" She jumped and landed in a 'take-off' position, "My AMAZING athleticism?" She stood on two legs and crossed her fore-legs, "My radical coolness?" She then took off and briefly flew around the room, only to stop above me suddenly and drop down in front of me, standing upright and placing her left fore-hoof on her chest, "Or my unmatchable speed?"

...Yeah, this confidence and way of bragging... it definitely feels like I've experienced it before.

"I'm sure she told him all of those things deary," Rarity walked past Rainbow and up to me. "Now forgive my rudeness but, what_ are_ you wearing? It seems...rather unattractive, if you don't mind me saying." She began to feel the cloak I had donned myself in.

"Ah, well... I always wear this when I meet new peo- ponies." _Okay, getting a little better at lying._

"But I thought we were the first ponies you've met since you came here, am I wrong?" Rarity raised an eyebrow at me.

"Umm..." _Damnit! C'mon, think Corpus! Make something up! _"Well, in Equestria, yes. But I come from far, far away. I used to wear this to calm my nerves, but now it's just become a bad habit." I gave a small fake laugh. _Whew, close one._

"Well okay then. Just, promise me you won't wear that when you're out with us. It would be, attracting undesirable attention...so to speak." I nodded my head, giving her my silent word. "Well you've only to meet Fluttershy now." Rarity looked behind her, "Come on dear, I'm sure he wants to meet you."

I looked around, but couldn't see head or tail of the Pegasus.

"O-okay..." A small voice called out from behind Twilight, and Fluttershy came walking out with her head and body close to the ground... this is shyness on a close to impossibly cute level...

"Uh, hey. I'm Corpus, you?" I held out my only hoof with feeling left in it.

Fluttershy glanced up from the floor, looking from behind her mane...then to the floor again. "-shy..." A barely audible high-pitched voice softly said.

"Um... didn't quite hear you there." I could tell this was going to be tough, two social abrogates trying to talk... not gonna happen.

"Fluttershy, please try to speak a little louder. I don't think he can hear you." Rarity looked at Fluttershy, trying to give her a little more confidence.

"M-my name's...F-Fluttershy..." She said, yet again barely audible.

"...Well it's nice to meet you."

"Y-yes. I'm looking forward to being friends with you. I-I mean, if it's alright with you..." She began backing away a little again, the cuteness overloading my brain.

"Ah'm sure he's fine, after all he did come 'ere to make friends, din't ya?" Applejack lightly punched me in the side, startling me and causing me to jolt myself upright.

Everyone in the room gasped, staring at me as if I had transformed in front of them. Even Applejack, who was right next to me, had jumped away startled. I was confused, until I heard a light object brush against the floor as if it had fallen. I instantly realised what had happened, but it took a moment to process it. My wings... had unfurled due to the shock, knocking my cloak onto the floor and the others all seeing my full body. I was stood there with my brown wings spread out, in addition to my horn in plain sight. They all knew what I was.

Twilight stood there, her mouth agape at what she was witnessing. Her friends all doing the same. _Princess, I know you said he was special and a very unique pony...but this, the fact that he's an Alicorn is worth mentioning!_

* * *

**Well, how'd you find it? I wonder what was written in Celestia's note... Oooo~, tor~ment! :3**

**Anyway review and do whatever else you want, because it makes me happy :D**

**You've probably noticed by now but I release a chapter a day, and will continue to do so ;)**

**Until tomorrow, Bye bi!**


	5. Chapter 5: The 1st Day: Learning Magic

**Author's Note: Nothing like left over Chinese to start work on FanFiction.**

**Luckily I have today off work so I'll be able to start on Chapter 6 too! :D**

**Anyway, without further ado I present to you Chapter 5!**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_My most faithful Student, Twilight:_

_I'm afraid I had another reason for sending Corpus to you. You see, he is apparently, or rather was, originally a 'human'. I did a bit of research on what a 'human' is and have discovered that they are somewhat related to Centaurs. Learning this, I'm sure that you'll now find him as interesting as I do and probably have a lot of questions needing answers. But for now, I wish to give you a very important task:_

_Firstly, I'd like you to accommodate him for the next five days and teach him how to use magic. He may have a horn and be as old as you  
and your friends, but he's still in need of growth. Be sure to teach him the fundamentals  
and help him let his magic grow, this will be very important for your..._

* * *

We all stood there in an awkward silence, everyone still looking at me.

_...Crap... _"Uhm... I can explain... you see... err..." No good, can't think of anything!

"Sweet Celestia!" Applejack cried out, "A-are you related to Princess Celestia or sumthin'?"

"No, no, no! I'm not-"

"Who cares?" Rainbow cut me off mid-sentence and flew down in front of me, "It's not everyday something this awesome comes up! How about you and me have a race? Alicorns are supposed to be amazingly fast, but I should be faster! C'mon let's go!" Rainbow flew to the open door, only for Twilight to close it just before the Pegasus could reach it. Hitting the door, Rainbow fell to the floor in a slump.

"Not until he's answered some of our questions." Twilight said in a demeaning tone, staring me in the eyes.

"Well there isn't much to ask, really." Rarity walked up to me and stood to my side, lightly pushing her head into the side of my neck. "He's quite obviously a royal gentleman from Canterlot, are you not dear? After all, your accent says as much."

I took a step to the side to remove the Unicorn from my neck. "Uh, not really. I did come from Canterlot, but only because I arrived there this morning. And I'm not royal, not in the slightest."

Rarity pouted slightly, "Well you quite obviously are darling, Alicorns only exist in Equestria's royal family. If you're not related to Princess Celestia then how are you an Alicorn?"

"Well, how do I put this? I-I'm actually a-"

"Oh oh! I know I know!" Yet again, I'm cut off...does no-one care for my words? "You're actually a Royal in _DISGUISE_ aren't you!? Oh, oh! Or maybe you're an _ALIEN_ that came to this planet and took the form of our royalty and are just searching for what you are and trying to recover your memories!?" ...Actually, that one's just about right...

"He's a human." Everyone turned to Twilight, shocked at what she said. Myself included, how did she know!?

"H-how did you know?"

_Uh oh... I forgot that letter from the Princess was supposed to be a secret! Alright Twilight, just play it cool. _"The Princess sent me a letter informing me of your arrival and mentioned that you think you were a human. B-but she didn't say anything about humans, I don't even know what they are." Twilight gave a forced shaky smile, _Nice one Twi, way to keep it cool..._

I broke out into a cold sweat again, what if Twilight knows more than I do? Why am I nervous about this? This could be my chance to learn about who I am! "Did Celestia say anything about me personally?" C'mon, don't fail me now!

"O-only that you can't use magic." _Darn it Twilight, your voice is shaking... _

Nothing... why do I feel so relieved? "Okay... well a human is... what... I'm called back in my home country! There are lots of humans there that look like me! It's considered part of our growing up ritual to travel around and learn magic! That's why I can't use any." Phew, may have saved myself that time.

Rainbow sat back up, holding her head. "So where ARE you from? I've never heard of a human or seen lots of Alicorn-like ponies."

_Crap! C'mon think of a name, any name! _All of a sudden it felt like something exploded in my head, and I think I blacked out...

* * *

_Ugh... my head feels odd... it's throbbing pretty hard... my thoughts are...blurring..._

"Me? I'm from England, in the United Kingdom. It's quite a ways to the West of here, it took me 12 hours by plane to get here. So, were you born here in Tokyo?"

_Whose voice is this?...Wait...this...is my voice? _

"No, I was born in Kyoto. It's not too far from here, so we may be able to visit if we get some time off."

_I can hear someone else's voice too... It sounds familiar... I think I've heard it before..._

"Yeah, I suppose so. Well, I'm looking forward to working with you Akira-san."

My consciousness began to return, those words still swirling around my head as my dream ended.

* * *

Everyone was still stood in the same places, with the same faces... did no time pass? Ah! Quickly, use that!

"I-I come from England. It's in the United Kingdom, quite a ways to the West of here." Phew, close one... Wait... that must have been a memory! Yeah, I can recall it!

"Welp, if that's what you say you are; Ah guess we should believe it. After all, Princess Celestia also said you were human." Applejack took a few steps closer, feeling a little more at ease.

"Oh boy! This makes me even more excited! Not only are you new to Ponyville but you're new to Equestria as a whole! We've got to hold an even bigger party for you now! I'll go and get it set up!" Pinkie quickly bounced to the door and opened it, dashing through the doorway and off into the distance...

"Well ah guess we should all git goin' now. Knowin' Pinkie she'll git set up in minutes." Applejack chuckled and began walking to the door.

"Yeah! It's gonna be awesome! Let's go guys!" Rainbow jolted up from the floor, keeping herself in mid-air through the door at the same time as Applejack. Soon to be followed by Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy and me, after putting my cloak back on, of course.

We got to Sugarcube corner in around 10 minutes, noticing that along the way all of the streets were empty. Pinkie really must've invited every pony in Ponyville, that's pretty impressive... Once we got to Sugarcube Corner's door it swung open, everything inside being pitch black. We walked in and all of the lights turned on, temporarily blinding me. I opened my eyes and there were hundreds of ponies stood around, before all shouting "SURPRISE!".

And with that, the party started. Everyone talking and having fun, even Fluttershy seemed to come out of her shell. They were playing games like "Pin the tail on the Pony", "Twister" and various other party classics. They even brought in a pinata down later on. Pinkie also seemed to fit in despite her hyper-active state, probably because of the music and scenery as a whole. A DJ also came in to play music, I think someone called her "DJ Pon-3"... or something like that. The party continued on for hours afterwards and even I had fun, but I can't remember when it ended, or when I went back home.

* * *

I opened my eyes slowly, feeling a pulsing sensation flow through my head. I sat up and looked around... I'm in a bed, in a room I don't recognise. I got out of bed and made my way to the door. Opening it, I step out and realise where I am.

"Oh, this is the library's upstairs area. I don't remember coming up here." My stomach growled at me, demanding food. "Mmn... I'm hungry. I wonder where Twilight is, I could use something to eat." I headed into another room on the upper level and found Twilight laying on her bed reading a book, and a small purple dragon sleeping in a small basket-like bed next to her's. I'm guessing that he's Spike. "Um, morning."

Twilight looked up and smiled, "Good morning. Do you need something?"

"Actually, I was wondering where the food was. It's just dawned on me that the only food I've had since yesterday was at the party."

"Sure thing." Twilight closed her book with her magic and hopped off her bed. "I'll make you some now." Twilight walked past me and towards the stairs, I followed her. "Do you remember much about last night?"

"Umm..." Not at all, the night's a mystery to me. "Not much, only that it was pretty fun." I looked at Twilight who was beside herself with giggling. "What's so funny?" I don't think I said anything funny.

"Sorry, it's just what you did last night." She was still giggling away, unable to keep it under control. Did I really do something that funny? "You were up and dancing and singing along to a bunch of songs that came on, even though you didn't know most of the lyrics!" Twilight burst out into a small laughter, whilst I just stood there blushing heavily.

"D-did I really do all of that? Did my cloak fall off!?" I became increasingly worried at the thought of the whole town knowing I was an Alicorn.

"No, don't worry. You were just really funny, nothing else. By the end of it you were out cold and I had to carry you home."

"How did you carry me? Wasn't I heavy?"

"Magic." Twilight said, tapping her horn. Twilight's laughter came under control and she took me into the kitchen. _Hmm... I may not know what he is exactly, but I feel I can trust him. After all, he doesn't seem dangerous. Although, being related to a creature as fierce as a Centaur is pretty worrying. I guess for now I'll just have to trust in Celestia and do what she says. Thinking about it, Celestia's letter makes a lot more sense now that I know he has an Alicorn's body. _Twilight opened some cupboards and some apples and salad ingredients came out of it, levitated by her magic. She then began preparing a meal.

_Mmn, I'm not too big on vegetables... but I suppose being a pony puts meat off the menu. This may be harder than I thought..._

After a few minutes our breakfast was ready and we tucked in, and it tasted surprisingly good. Guess that being a pony has changed my taste a bit, I wonder what else I could try whilst I'm in Equestria... After we finished up Twilight took the dishes through to the kitchen and washed up. She came back out afterwards and walked towards her bookshelf, taking a book off of it with her magic.

"Hey, Twilight?"

She turned around and looked over at me, "Yes?"

I walked up to her and began scratching at the ground nervously, "Do you think you'll be able to teach me magic? I-I mean, if you don't already have anything planned."

"Funnily enough I was about to call you over about that. Princess Celestia has asked that I tutor you in using magic." Twilight placed the book on the ground.

"She did? Well that was really nice of her!" I smiled as I felt relief that I could soon fit in more. "So what will we be starting with? Levitation? Moving objects?"

"Nothing." Twilight stood there confidently, holding her head up high.

"Nothing? Then, how will I learn magic?"

"Well to use spells you need to know how to use magic, so we're going to concentrate on you summoning up magic power in your horn. Like so." Twilight's horn began to glow with a purple aura, slightly illuminating the already lit room. Her horn then stopped glowing and the purple light vanished from the room. "It's quite easy, all you need to do is focus energy into your horn. Try it. But don't worry if you don't get it straight away, it takes everyone a while to get it right on their first try." _Although, I've only ever seen fillies try magic before. An 18 or so year old Alicorn should be more than capable of doing this quickly._

With that I attempted to bring power into my horn, only for a small flicker of light to fall off of it. "Darn! Lemme try again!" I tried summoning power into my horn over and over again, only for the same result every time, a tiny flicker hardly worth noting. After half an hour of trying, I began working up a sweat with all of the effort I was exerting.

_This is taking much longer than I expected. Somepony our age should have grasped it ages ago... _"Okay, let's take a break." Twilight said somewhat nervously. I sat down on the floor, pretty tired out. Why is magic so hard to use? "Let's try a different approach. This time try imagining energy flowing through your body and into your horn."

"Okay, I'll give it a try." I stood back up and began wobbling slightly, shaking off my imbalance I try again. This time using Twilight's imagery. I closed my eyes and imagined power flowing through my body and focusing into my horn, imagining my horn glowing with the power in it.

"That's it! You're doing it!" I heard Twilight call out.

I opened my eyes and looked at Twilight, a happy expression on her face. I looked up toward my horn and could see an orange light shining out from the top of my head. "Haha! I did it! Twilight, I'm using magic!" I jumped up from joy, unable to control my excitement. So this is what it feels like to be Pinkie... what the hell keeps her this excited for so long...?

"Well, you're starting to. Next we just need to implement it into a spell."

"Gotcha! Which one should I try first?" I kept myself from jumping up and down with excitement, grinning like a hyper-active child all the while.

"It'd be best to start with levitation. It's the most basic spell and requires next to no magic power when used on small objects. Although on large objects it can cost quite a considerable amount. So we'll just start on something basic, like this book." Twilight pushed the book she had earlier taken off the shelf toward me, she then took a few steps backwards. "All you have to do is transfer your magic around the book and lift it up. Try using mental imagery like last time, that seemed to help."

"Okay!" I closed my eyes and began focusing energy into my horn, I then imagined the magic surrounding the book and lifting it.

"C-Corpus! Stop!"

I opened my eyes and saw that I was accidentally lifting up Twilight instead of the book. "Ah! I'm Sorry!"

"Don't worry, just put me down!" Twilight was kicking around in the air, trying to set herself free.

"I don't know how!" I began getting flustered and my magic went a little out of control, flinging Twilight from side to side.

"JUST STOP YOUR MAGIC!" Twilight screamed, barely missing the various objects in her home. I focused on my magic again and cut off it's connection to my horn, dispelling the levitation and dropping Twilight on her back. "Oww... I said levitate the book, not me!"

"Sorry! I must've missed when I closed my eyes!" I shrank back slightly, "Should I try again?"

Twilight stood herself back up and moved behind me, far away from the book. "Yes, give it another shot. Just keep your eyes open this time, okay?"

"Alright." I tried my luck at using levitation again, this time using the imagery with my eyes open. It felt kinda weird, sorta like a daydream. Only this one was having an effect, and was coming true in front of my eyes. The book became cloaked in a calm orange aura and slowly lifted off the ground, following my thoughts exactly. My excitement bubbled up and erupted out of me, putting me in a state of ecstasy. "Twilight!" I turned to face her, "Look! I'm levitating it!"

Twilight simply smiled and nodded. "Good work, now you just need to practise it a bit more." She chuckled a little.

"Hm? Did I do something wrong?" There was the sound of books being dropped behind me.

"Gaah! Help me!" A voice called out behind me, I turned to see Spike being suspended by the same orange light that surrounded the book. "Twilight, get me down!"

"You heard him Corpus."

"Ah, right!" Again, I stopped the flow of magic in my horn and the book and Spike fell to the ground.

"Ouch. Watch where you use your magic Twilight. I dropped all of those books because of that." Spike got up and began picking up the books he had dropped.

"Oh, that wasn't me Spike. It was my student Corpus here." Twilight bent her head in my direction, as if to point.

"Who?" Spike stood up straight and turned around, as soon as he saw me standing there he gasped and got in his knees, bowing to me. "F-forgive me for not noticing you, your Majesty."

"U-um... I'm not royalty, Spike. This is what everybody where I'm from looks like."

Spike looked up and stood again, "Oh, and where is that? And don't you mean every_pony_?"

Twilight answered for me, "He's from England, it's in a country to the West of here. A place called the United Kingdom."

"Y-yeah, and we usually say 'everybody' where I'm from. I'll just have to get used to saying 'pony' I guess." I gave a small laugh.

"Oh, okay. Just try not to break anything with your magic, otherwise you'll be the one to clear it up afterwards." Spike stumbled over to the bookshelf with the pile he was carrying.

I nodded my head and felt Twilight hoof on my back.

"C'mon, we've got a lot of practising to do." She walked to the side and brought a few more books out for me to practise on.

We practised my levitation magic for a few more hours and spent the rest of the day on teaching me various ways to use levitation. Such as placing items down in an order and moving a quill so that I can write with it. We had the occasional break for food and just for a bit of rest, until it was time for us to hit the hay...hehe, I made a funny...

_To Celestia,_

_Yesterday I recovered a piece of my memory, apparently I come from a place named England which  
is in somewhere called the "United Kingdom". Do you know anything about it? I also remember someone called  
'Akira-san'. Anyway, today I learnt some magic. Twilight taught me the basics  
of summoning up magic power and using to levitate objects, like how to write letters._

_So I'll write again to update you on my magic training and whenever I recover any memories. Oh, I also got a nostalgic feeling when  
I encountered Rainbow Dash yesterday. The reason why is beside me, I don't think it's related to my past  
but, the feeling was undeniable. Anyway, I'll write to you soon,_

_- 'Corpus Callosum'_

* * *

**So, did you like it? I tried my best to get the character representations right, but I can't shake the feeling that I may have gone wrong somewhere. Meh, it may be me being paranoid :/**

**Anyway, review if you like and tell me where I could make it better, nothing makes me happier :)**

**See you next time, Bye bi!**


	6. Chapter 6: The 2nd Day: Magical Talent

**Author's note: Welcome back! If you've made it this far then that means you don't find my story crap! :D**

**Anyway, this Chapter took a lot of thought and Roast Chicken to make, so it may not be as good. And almost my entire day was consumed by relatives coming to visit, forcing me to socialize... I would've worked in front of them but they have no idea that I'm a brony, not to mention  
that they hate deviance. So this one's out a lot, lot later than the others, sorry about that...**

**Well, Enjoy anyway!**

* * *

Celestia sat in her room, reading the letter Jake had sent her the previous evening again. She sighed and placed the letter on her bed. She levitated a book on Equestria and it's neighbouring countries to her and began flicking through the pages. After a while she closed it and set it down.

"I'm a little short on information here..." She picked up the letter again and opened it, reading it a third time. "He said that he remembers being in a place called the 'United Kingdom', but there aren't any records of it here. I guess I'll just have to wait for more of his memories to return." Celestia stood up and headed out of her door, running into Luna as she did so.

Luna took a step back after almost crashing into Celestia. "Oh, hello Sis." Luna gave her a concerned look, "Are you alright? Tell me what's on your mind."

"Oh, nothing much." Celestia secreted a small smile, "I'm just looking forward to what happens to that mysterious Stallion, he's a very interesting one."

"Luna looked a little confused, "Do you mean the one you found yesterday? What's so special about him, I just thought he was a lost traveller?"

Celestia laughed a little, "He's an Alicorn that's lost his memory. All he can remember is that he's a human, or at least used to be."

Luna was taken back with shock, "A-an Alicorn? But Cadence and Blueblood are our only relatives! How could he be an Alicorn!?"

Celestia smirked, "I have no idea, that's why I'm excited. He also comes from somewhere that doesn't exist."

"And you believed him? What if he's lying? An intruder!?" Luna became increasingly annoyed at the thought of someone deceiving her beloved sister.

"He's not." Celestia said calmly, easing her sister with a smile. "Once you meet him you'll understand."

Luna stared at her sister, then sighed and gave up her fight. "And when will that be?"

"Hmm... soon enough. Maybe in a few days." Celestia turned left down the hallway and made her way towards the balcony, to begin raising the Sun. Celestia looked back whilst walking, "Just give it a bit of time. If you want to observe him, he should be waking up in a few hours." Celestia turned back and continued on, "You'll find him at Twilight's house." She departed through the doorway.

Luna sighed, turning face and making her way down the corridor. "Maybe I will. He does seem to be shrouded in quite a bit of mystery..."

* * *

I tossed around, stirring in my sleep. I kicked my hoof off to the side and followed through with the force, flinging myself off the bed. My head made contact with the floor.

"Ow!" I opened my eyes and stared at an upside-down world, "Ugh... I hate mornings..." I rolled onto my side and slowly got up, yawning. My stomach growled at me, demanding that I feed it. "Yeah, yeah... I get some. But first I'll see if Twilight wants anything." I walked through my bedroom door and into Twilight's. "Hey, Twilight. What do you want to eat?" I looked up sleepily to see that she wasn't there, her bed made neatly. "Huh, must be downstairs."

I made my way downstairs and to the kitchen, where I saw a note on the side.

_Dear Corpus,_

_I'm sorry to have to leave this morning but Pinkie said that she had something urgent to talk to me about. There's  
some hay and lettuce in the cupboard, so feel free to make yourself something to eat. I should be back  
at around 7 O'clock, be sure to oversee that Spike does his chores for the day._

_As for your training, today I would like you to read through some of the books on the shelf by the entrance. There's a "Find your  
Talent" series up there, they should be very beneficial to helping you find your expertise in magic. Until  
you do so we can't train your magic further, ponies can only use magic attune to their talents. Levitation and other forms of  
telekinesis are exempt, however._

_See you soon,_

_- Twilight_

"Hmm... I wonder what Pinkie wanted that was so important?" I grumbling noise came from my stomach again, "I got it, I got it. I'll get the food now." I opened the cupboard with my magic and took out some hay, bread and some lettuce. Combining them together into a sandwich and promptly eating it. "Wow, I'm never going to get used to how good this stuff tastes!" Having eaten, I walked out of the kitchen and up to the bookshelf. Taking off a book labelled 'Find your Talent: Vol.1: Construction - Fashion'. "Hm... don't think my talent lies here but, probably best to try it anyway." I opened the book and lay down, ready to read.

* * *

Twilight galloped quickly to the top of a hill that overlooked Ponyville, where a bouncy pink Pony awaited her. "Pinkie, I'm here." Twilight let her head down and panted. "What was the urgent thing you wanted?"

"Well, you know how I LOVE sweets and candy and all the sugary stuff that makes me hyper?"

"Yes...?" Twilight looked inquisitively at her, beginning to regret coming all this way.

"I thought it would be super AWESOME to come here and begin gathering ingredients to make a whole BATCH of sugary goods and give them out to the whole town as a huge surprise! We could make cookies and muffins and cakes and- *Extremely loud and prolonged gasp* CHIMMI CHERRY CHANGAS!" Pinkie stared Twilight in the eyes with a crazily happy and... odd expression on her face.

Twilight put her face into her hoof as she sighed, "Haa, Pinkie. I thought you said this was important." Retracting her face, she gives the pink bundle of fun a tired look, "I've got to go back and teach Corpus magic, we've only got a few more days to train."

"Oh but it IS important! Everypony will be so overwhelmed with joy that the town will be filled with happiness and laughter and everypony getting along just swell!" Pinkie closed her eyes and began jumping with joy at the thought of a cheery, bubbly Ponyville.

Twilight sighed and turned around, "Sorry Pinkie, but I really have to get going and oversee his training. Maybe some other time, alright?"

Pinkie slid across the floor and held Twilight by her hind legs, "But Twilight! Everypony will get disappointed if we don't give them the candy! Do you really want to go back to a Ponyville where everypony is sad and depressed all because you wouldn't help make their sweets instead of a happy jolly Ponyville filled with excitement and joy and everypony eating their sweets and forgetting their problems?" Pinkie looked at her with big pleading eyes and an overhanging bottom lip.

"...Haa... fine. We'll make your sweets."Twilight reluctantly said, closing her eyes in disbelief of what just left her mouth. "But why make them all the way up here? Why not go to Sugarcube Corner where they already have all the ingredients and equipment needed to make them?"

Pinkie just giggled happily and sprung up, hopping away from Twilight and bending her neck backwards to face her. "Because then it won't be a surprise, silly!" She spun around and happily hopped in place with her eyes closed.

Twilight's eyes opened wide and gave Pinkie a stern look. "But you said they'd be disappointed if we didn't make them! How would they know if it's going to be a surprise!?"

Pinkie began to bounce away down the other side of the hill, "Come on Twilight! Lets'a go!" Pinkie disappeared from view as she descended down the hill in a single hop.

Twilight hung her head down low and followed Pinkie, too deep in to pull out now...

* * *

"Aww! C'mon!" I cried as yet another spell failed. "Even party tricks? Who can't use party trick magic!? That's possibly the weakest form of magic there is!" I moved volume 4 away from me and brought volume 5 up instead. "Okay, Animation to teleportation. _Please_ work this time!" I flipped over the front cover and began reading the first page.

_Warning! Before attempting any of the spells in this book, ensure that you're in an open space. Several of the spells in  
here can lead to serious injury or death if not used under these conditions._

"Eee! Doesn't sound too good. But if I don't find out my magical talent by the time Twilight gets back, she'll be pretty pissed... Guess I have no choice but to try it. What else do I need? A broom, a wide space and an assistant. I suppose Spike'll have to be the assistant then." I stood up and took the book over to the stairs, closing it as I approached. "Hey Spike!"

A few seconds passed and then a response was heard, "Yep? What do you need?" Spike came jogging to the staircase, holding a broom he had presumably been cleaning with.

"Oh, well Twilight has asked me to practise my magic whilst she was out, and I need an assistant for the next part. Care to help?" I gave him a pleading smile.

"Uhm, I dunno. I have to get these chores finished up by the time Twilight gets back otherwise she'll be pretty mad."

"Well how about you scratch my back, and I'll scratch your's?"

"But my back's not itchy. How would scratching it do any good. Besides," Spike put both arms behind himself and started moving them, "I can scratch my back just fine."

I face-hoofed and looked back up at him. "I meant if you do me a favour, I'll return it." Honestly, has he never heard of a figure of speech before?

Spike stopped scratching himself and looked at me, "Ohh, right. Why didn't you just say so?"

...I don't even know how to react to that...

"So if I do this for you, you'll help with my chores?" Spike placed his hand to his chin.

"Yep, that's what I'm saying." I said, nodding my head.

"Alright, deal!" Spike gave me the thumbs up. "So what am I going to be doing?"

"First I need you to come with me and bring along that broom." I headed toward the bookshelf to gather more books.

"Brooms? What kinda magic need brooms?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Animation magic." I replied without looking back.

"Y-you're not going to be using that on me, are you?" Spike dropped his broom and stepped backwards until he was against the wall.

"Of course not. You're for the teleportation and whatever-else-magic." I lifted the scattered books back onto the shelf and took the last 4 remaining volumes with me.

"What? I'm not doing it! I've experienced Twilight's teleportation a few times too many, there's no way I'm letting you do it!" Spike crossed his arms defiantly and looked away from me.

"I've already got your consent, so come on." I levitated Spike and his broom and brought them to me.

"Wah! Let me go!" Spike struggled, trying to break free of my grasp.

"Nope." I plonked him down onto my back and placed a cloak on afterwards, trapping him in place.

"Let me out! I don't wanna help you anymore! I take back what I sa-" I used my magic to hold his mouth shut.

I then opened the door and happily trotted out with a broom, 4 books and a smuggled Spike in toll.

* * *

_Meanwhile with Twilight and Pinkie..._

"Pinkie, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Of course I am Twilight. After all, I'm the one who came up with this." Pinkie said, stirring a large cauldron filled with bubbling blue liquid.

_That's what I'm afraid of... _"Is that even how sweets are supposed to be made?" Twilight cautiously stepped towards the cauldron.

"Pfft. Duh! How d'you think they get all of their bubbly energy from?"

_Such a grammatically incorrect sentence! _"I just assumed they used sugar and other high energy content. You know, like normal ponies." Twilight replied bluntly.

"Well yeah, but if we do it the normal way then it wouldn't be special now would it?" Pinkie stirred the cauldron faster. "Now add some apples!"

Twilight lifted the apples and dropped them in. "I guess. Well do you know what you're doing at least?"

"Nope!" Pinkie said confidently.

Twilight stood in awe, not saying anything for a while before finally finding her words. "What!? Pinkie you told me this was a good idea!"

"It is! It'll teach me a new way of making baked goods! Isn't that fun?" Her stirring began to pick up in speed. Twilight looking extremely uneasy.

* * *

"Right, this should be a good spot." I stopped in an open clearing and dropped the books in a pile, taking off my cloak in the process and letting Spike fall to the ground.

"Ow..." Spike stood up and looked at me angrily, "I said I'm not doing it!"

I picked up a book and flung it open, "Sorry Spike, but if this doesn't get done then I'll have to explain how today was wasted." I kept flicking through until I got to the 'Animation' section.

"Whatever, I'm outta here." Spike began to walk away before being held in place by my magic, "H-hey! Let me go!"

"Just hold on for a while, I need to read through this." I stared into the book, reading its words very carefully. "Okay, _'Keep control of animated object at all times. It will be 'alive' and of free will until the magic you put into it wears out. Losing control of it will result in it moving on its own accord and acting as it pleases. To use this magic, simply place some of your power into the object and give it a command. The object will not respond if the right amount of power is not inserted, making this very delicate magic.' _Hmm, I see. So, something like this then?" I shot a small amount of power into the broom, a light orange aura coating it.

"..." The broom failed to respond.

"Maybe you need more power?" Spike was still held in place by my magic.

"Maybe, then let's try this!" I planted more magic into the broom, causing the aura to grow stronger. The broom moved across the ground a little, causing a smile of success to brew on my face.

"..." The broom still failed to respond.

"Still not enough? Try using just a teensy bit more."

"Right, now please work!" I used more magic on the broom, intensifying the aura on it and causing it to rise off the ground. "I did it! I can use Animation magic! Look Spike!"

"Yes, I can see! You're amazing!" Spike's face fell unimpressed and serious, "Now can you let me go?"

"Yeah sure, I'll just-" A loud explosion cut me off, I looked up in surprise as the broom had combusted and fell to the ground. "...Aw Come on! I can't even do THAT!? Arrgh!" I held my head down in frustration, placing my hooves on it and ruffling my mane. "Fine!" I brought my head up and looked at Spike, "I'll just move to teleportation."

"W-w-wait!" Spike waved his arms in front of him, "Calm down! Y-you don't even know how to use teleportation yet! A-at least look it up first!"

I blew hot air out of my nostrils and turned to my book. "Teleportation... _'To use teleportation, simply place magic around the matter you wish to transport. Then force the magic to cave in on the matter, reducing it to nothing. Then make the magic expand outwards again in a different location to bring the matter there. Be warned, transporting matter without a place in mind will cause it to appear somewhere random. Be especially careful when transporting organisms, if an item were to be transported into the creature or vice versa, then the creature will almost indefinitely die.' _Okay, let's try it." A hint of frustration still in my voice.

"Wait! Do it on the broom! It's till too early to do it on a living being!" Spike brought his arms up to guard his face.

"Fine." I turned to the flaming broom. I focused magic in my horn and around the broom then, in a flash of light, the broom disappeared. "...I did it? I did it!" I began jumping up and down like Pinkie.

"Um, Corpus? Where'd the broom go?"

I stopped jumping and began looking around, confused. "I... don't know?"

* * *

"Now for the sugar!" Pinkie turned around to grab a bag filled with the 'good stuff'.

"I thought you said the energy came from the cauldron?" Twilight was sat on the ground, looking at some trees out of intense boredom. All of a sudden there was a bright orange light, and an object dropped into the cauldron.

"No silly, I was talking about me!" Pinkie turned back around and spilled the sugar into the cauldron, throwing away the bag and beginning to stir again. "Doing big strange things like this is really fun and where I get most of my bubbly energy from! You should try it instead of being the boring booboo pants you are!"

Twilight turned her head, giving Pinkie an inquisitive look. "Umm, Pinkie? Did you hear something drop into the cauldron just now?"

"Hm? Of course I did, it was the sugar silly!" Pinkie beamed a huge smile at Twilight.

"No, I mean before tha-" Pinkie opened her eyes and stared at Twilight silently with a smile, Twilight staring back. "...You know what? Nevermind."

* * *

"Hey, where d'you think the broom went?"

"...I've no idea. Anyway, now I have no choice but to try it on you." I gave Spike an evil smirk as I approached him.

"Wait, no! I don't wanna be teleported! You might mess up! What if you do!?" Spike constantly tried to struggle against the magic holding him in place.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." My horn started to glow.

"N-no! WAIT!" Spike was engulfed in an orange light, "AHHHHHHH!"

"Spike."

"Help! I'm dying!" Spike had his eyes closed and was waving his arms about.

"Spike! Open your eyes!"

Spike opened his eyes and blinked twice. "Huh? I'm alive? And it worked?" Spike was now 10 or so metres from where he first was.

"Thanks for the support..." My head fell slightly to the passive insult.

"Does this mean...we can go home now!?" Spike eyes flooded with tears of relief.

"Well...I still need to practise but, I suppose we can pack it in for the day." I brought the books over to me and placed my cape back on.

"Yes! No more magic today!" Spike raised his arms in the air with a feeling of victory.

"Hehe, not quite."

"What d'you mean? You said that we're going home." Spike lowered his arms slightly.

"Yes." An evil smile crawled onto my face, "But I never said we were **walking** home..."

"Y-you... can't mean...!" Spike slowly backed away from me.

"TELEPORTATION!" I screamed out and a blinding light filled the area, us no longer there when it faded.

We appeared back at the library, Spike screaming yet again.

"Spike, we're home!" I pushed him on his side.

"Huh?" Spike looked down at his hands and the floor, "Yes! We're safe!" Spike fell to the floor, happy with his safe return.

"I'll go and put the books back." I turned around and stopped. I looked back over my shoulder to Spike, "Uhm...where'd the books go?"

"I dunno. Anyway, you owe me some help." Spike pointed to me.

"Yeah, I suppose I do. So what're we doing first?"

"First we need to finish cleaning the upper floor, then we need to go and buy more food. But because you destroyed my only broom we need to go and buy another. We'll start on the other jobs after we've stocked up."

"Okay then, shall we go?" I headed towards the door.

"Yep." Spike nodded his head and jumped on my back.

We spent the day's remaining hours doing Spikes chores.

* * *

Pinkie turned around to pick up a big spoon, Twilight sleeping on the floor. All of a sudden another bright light occurred and some more objects dropped into the cauldron. Waking Twilight up.

"Ugh... you're still working on it Pinkie?" Twilight said sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"Yep! Just one more thing!" Pinkie turned around and dropped a bundle of yeast into the cauldron. "Yeast!" Pinkie began stirring it more.

"Where'd you get the yeast from?" Twilight approached Pinkie, who was still behind the cauldron.

"I grew it! It's been incubated in a pot for a few days now, just long enough to make this!" All of a sudden the cauldron started shaking and the brew bubbling wildly.

"Wha-what's happening!? Pinkie!" Twilight jumped away from the cauldron, keeping a distance between them.

"IT'S STARTING!" Pinkie smiled wildly at her shaking cauldron. Within an instant, a huge muffin head erupted from the top of the cauldron, the rest of it trapped inside. "IT'S DONE!" Pinkie raised both arms and the cauldron broke, revealing a giant muffin.

"Wha- this defies the laws of physics! How did this happen!?" Twilight approached the muffin in disbelief.

"Now we just need to transport it to Ponyville! If you will Twilight." Pinkie jumped down and stood next to Twilight, admiring her creation.

"Pinkie, it's past 9 O'clock. Nopony's going to eat a muffin this late."

"Twilight, Twilight. It's never too late for Muffin Time! Let's go!" Pinkie shot her hoof into the air.

Twilight sighed, tiredly bringing herself to the muffin, "Alright. To Ponyville we go." With her stoic intermission, the two and the Great Muffin vanished, Appearing again in front of Ponyville's fountain.

After an hour of standing around and giving muffin pieces to everypony, and eating some themselves, of course, Twilight and Pinkie headed home.

Me, Spike and Owlowicious were laying on the floor, exhausted from all of the chores we had to do. Twilight walked in with a muffin piece floating by her.

"Hey, how'd your training go? Did you find a spell you could use?"

I stood up and tiredly looked at Twilight, "Yeah, it turns out that I can use teleportation magic."

"Nice, so the books came in handy."

"They did. But, unfortunately we lost some of them and a broom during practise." I looked at her sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, I have spares in my room." So many questions, so little time. "Anyway, here's a muffin piece for you. It's what Pinkie wanted me for."

"Oh right, thanks!" I ate the muffin piece. It tasted a little off, but good. "So how was it? With Pinkie?"

Twilight hung her head down low and walked past me. "I'll tell you tomorrow, for now I'm too tired."

"I hear ya there." I pushed Spike and Owlowicious with my nose, "C'mon guys, time for bed. It'll be much more comfortable than the floor." It was no use, they were already fast asleep. I chuckled and lifted them with my levitation, taking them to their respective beds before heading to my own. Once in bed, I fell asleep quickly. Out for the night.

* * *

**So how was it? Most of this Chapter was improvised on the spot so it's not going to be my best one :P**

**Anyway, sorry again for the late publishing. Relatives stick around for too long.**

**But for now, I shall follow my own great example and head off to sleep. **

**Don't forget to review! :D**

**Bye bi! **


	7. Chapter 7: Days 3 and 4: The Next Level

**Author's note: This story's getting much more popular than I thought it would! It's already got 15 favouriters and 12 followers :D**

**Yet again, my deepest apologies that this Chapter was, also, released very, very late. I'm ending up with less and less free time and thus am getting less time to update. I don't even watch anime or play games regularly anymore :/**

**I promise that from this point onward that I'll get a Chapter out a day, except for tomorrow. For I shall be releasing two Chapters! **

**Also, after reading 'Cupcakes' I have become increasingly glad that Pinkie made a muffin last Chapter :'/ Ea~sily could've done something bad...**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

The next day, no-one went walking around town. Everyone was at home, laying in their beds. Everyone was sick to their stomachs and were constantly throwing up. For an epidemic of this scale to happen, I would guess that it would be something that everyone in Ponyville interacted with. You guessed it, _**Pinkie's Muffin...**_

The circumstance was so serious that Celestia and the entirety of Canterlot's emergency medical team was called in to deal with it. It took the entire day for the team to move around and heal everyone; but then, most of us were kept in out beds to allow ourselves to recover. I could've sworn that some broom pieces came out when I used that bucket earlier... what the hell did Pinkie put in!? Anyway, Me, Twilight and almost everyone else in Ponyville spent the rest of the day in bed; with twiddling our thumbs being our only passtime...and we don't even have _those_...

* * *

_The next day..._

I achingly crawled out of bed, dragging myself out of my room and downstairs. Where I saw Twilight sat at a table, her head resting on it. "Hey, Twilight." I sat down opposite her, my ears drooping from drowsiness.

"Hey..." She didn't lift her head. She seems to still be affected by 'MF-9'. That's Ponyville's file name for the great Muffin incident.

"Still feeling rough, huh?" I placed a hoof on her head. "You should start to feel better soon, the Medical team's magic should start taking a bit of effect."

"Yeah..." Twilight stood up and began to head to the stairs. "I'm going back to bed, if you're hungry just go into the kitchen. I'll be by to help you with your magic later on, just leave a note telling me where you'll be."

"Okay, I'll head out soon. A little fresh air may do my stomach some good."

Twilight nodded and proceeded to her bedroom door, closing it as she entered.

"Well," I stood up and walked to the bookshelf, picking up a book about teleportation. I then lifted a quill and brought it to a scroll, noting down where I was headed for Twilight. "Guess I should be heading out now." A weaker than usual orange light covered my horn as I disappeared from the library and reappeared in a lush green field, a little ways to the South of Ponyville. The place where I trained with Spike the other day.

I took a deep breath in and sighed, feeling slightly refreshed, "Ah... it feels really nice out here. Just what I needed." I walked over to a nearby tree and laid down by it, opening the book and beginning to read. The soft, cool breeze sifted through my mane and past my face, stroking it gently as if to caress it. The scent from the grass and flowers also began to calmly stimulate my senses, making me feel even sleepier than I already was. Eventually, I felt my eyelids growing heavy, until I fell unconscious. A dream whisking me away from the world.

* * *

_"So, what d'you think?"_

_"It's good! It's been a while since I've seen a style that I've liked this much! I would've thought that you'd come a little higher than 7th place though. Maybe around 4th?"_

_"Well, it's not that good. There are tons better out there."_

_"At the moment, yes. But the difference between competition winners and people like you; is that they have plenty of talent shown, and you have plenty of talent hidden."_

_"Y-you really think so?"_

_"Of course! Some of the best worked for me. You have more raw talent than you'd find in most people, all you need to do is hone it into your creations."_

_"That may be taking it a bit far. I don't have much talent."_

_"...How many classes did you take?"_

_"Umm... none?"_

_"And how long do you spend on these? Your creations?"_

_"Well, not very long. Unless I spot a mistake, then I'll go back and make sure that it's at the point it needs to be."_

_"Precisely. You create stuff like this with next to no effort. And you've never taken a course to instruct you in how to do this."_

_"But, isn't that the same with most people?"_

_"Everyone here except you has taken lessons, several a week for hours at a time."_

_"W-what? But I've seen plenty of people who breeze through this stuff with ease. Producing stuff much more impressive in half the time I took."_

_"As I said, those people have had a lot of practise and teaching. You've had neither, it's a natural talent."_

_"That sounds a bit much, calling it natural..."_

_"But it is! Anyway, I'm going to enjoy working with you. Just keep producing these and we'll be famous in no time!"_

_"Sure thing!"_

_"Oh! Almost forgot, what's your name partner?"_

_"...Corpus."_

_"Corpus?"_

_"Corpus!"_

* * *

"-pus!"

_Mmn... what? _I slowly open my eyes and lift my dreary head, my blurry vision sorts itself out after a few seconds and I see Twilight stood there, leaning her head towards me. "Twilight?" I squint my eyes slightly as they adjust.

"Hey, welcome back. I've been trying to wake you up for a while now" She brings her head back to where it's usually placed. "You've been sleeping by this tree for Celestia knows how long."

"Really?" I stand up and stretch out my back, my wings instinctively stretching out too. Yawning as I did so. "What time is it?"

"It's coming up to three O'clock now." Twilight began walking away, towards a small pile of stuffed toys.

I was shocked, I came out here at only eleven!

Twilight reached the pile and turned around to face me again. "But in all honesty, I only woke up half an hour ago myself." She chuckled nervously a little.

I let out a small laugh, "Guess we were both a little tired, then." I walked over to her and the small pile.

"So what did you dream about? You seemed to be smiling an awful lot."

"Hm? I'm not too sure, I think it was-" My eyes shot open in sudden realisation. _That dream! It was a memory! Although, it doesn't tell me much. something about creating things and a competition? Regardless, it wouldn't be enough to tell Celestia about. It doesn't give me any information or leads as to who I am, after all. _Twilight tilted her head to the side and looked at me inquisitively. _Although I should probably still mention it, she did ask me to tell her whenever I recovered any memories..._

"Hello~. Anyone in?" Twilight maintained her previous look.

I looked up and remembered what she asked. "O-oh right. Umm, it was really funny! Everything looked distorted and everyo- pony's voices were all messed up!" I forced on laughter to try and help cover the lie.

Twilight chuckled, "Was I there too?"

"Yeah, your voice was the funniest!" _Please just get to training! I don't wanna continue this._

Twilight looked a little taken back, but just laughed it off. "Well, we should start practising. You'll be under somepony elses care from the day after tomorrow after all." She bent down and brought an item up with her magic.

My false laughter came to a halt, "...What?"

Twilight looked up, holding a teddy bear above her. "Wait, Celestia didn't tell you? That you were only staying with me for 5 days?"

I shook my head, "No, not at all."

"Hm..." Twilight put a hoof to her chin, "I'm not sure why she didn't tell you. I would've thought that she'd at least want you to know about something as big as this."

_Yeah, it is a bit strange. _"So whose place will I be staying at next?"

Twilight returned her hoof to the ground. "I don't know. I always thought you knew about this, and whose place to visit next."

_Mm, it's really bugging me not knowing what to do. But I suppose I should just get this over with before worrying about it. _"Well, Celestia will probably send a message soon. So we may as well start practising."

"Yeah, I suppose." Twilight's horn glowed magenta and a stuffed toy hit me in the face, completely unexpectedly.

"Bah! What're you doing? I thought we were practising magic?" I moved the toy away from me with my hoof.

"We are, you need to get the hang of your teleportation. So I'll be firing projectiles at you whilst you time your teleportations right. As soon as you dodge ten consecutive toys and get me with three, we'll stop for the day." Twilight lifted another toy into the air.

"There's nothing hard in there, right?" I became slightly nervous at not knowing what exactly was in that pile.

"Of course not. I want to help you with your magic, not bludgeon you beyond recognition. Anyway... think fast!" With that, Twilight fired another bear at me. My horn began to glow and then a bri-! ...The toy hit me before I could even move. "Come on, you'll have to increase the speed at which you initiate the spell too."

"What kind of practise is this anyway? Wouldn't it be more effective to just time my teleportation speed instead of throwing bears at me?"

"Well I read in a book that a pony's abilities grow the most under pressure, so I thought this would suit the occasion quite well." Twilight picked up another bear.

"Umm... how is this under pressure? You're just throwing toys at me."

"Well, the book suggested using objects like stones and hard balls. But you're still new at magic so a projectile that causes no physical harm would be best."

"Even s-!" Another bear hit me in the face. "Hey I wasn-!" Another bear hit me in the face. "Damnit Twilight!" I jumped out of the way of the third bear and faced her. "At least warn me whe-!" Another bear hit me in the face.

"Sorry, can't let you goof off." Twilight smiled, holding five more bears in the air.

"Fine!" My horn began glowing again as she fired another 2 bears at me, both of which hit me in the face before I could begin teleporting. "They're too fast!"

"You're just taking your time with the spell. You don't need to gather power in the horn and then transfer it, just move it through your horn and around yourself. Try it." Twilight fired another bear at me.

This time, following Twilight's instruction, I moved my power through my horn and around me. Cutting down the overall spell-casting time and I disappeared in an orange light. Re-appearing in a different location. "Hah!" I opened my eyes. "Dodged...one... Twilight?" I looked around, Twilight nowhere to be seen.

"Behind you." I turned around to se-! ...Another bloody bear... "Back to zero!" Twilight chimed.

"But, how did you get behind me? I teleported!"

"_You_ teleported behind _me. _I just noticed before you did. Don't forget to focus on where you're teleporting to." Twilight fired another bear at me.

"I know!" I teleported out of the way, the fired teddy just missing. "But it's hard to focus when you're firing bears at me!"

"So you admit that you're under pressure?" Twilight smirked, knowing that she was right yet again.

"..." I bit my lip, trying to stop myself from making myself look like an idiot even more.

A big smile grew upon the Unicorn's face, "I thought so." She flung another two toys at me. Teleporting, I dodged them both. Hm, I see that you're beginning to get the hang of it."

I readied myself to teleport again, "Thanks. Won't be long until I've dodged ten and gotten you three times!"

"We'll see about that." Another bear was flung at me.

An orange light flashed, and I was still stood there. The bear, however, had been redirected back at Twilight, hitting her in the face. "You were saying?" A smug tone in my voice.

"I said you'll have to wait a while. After all," Her horn glowed a dark magenta, but no toys levitated. "You've been hit again."

I felt something hit my leg, I looked down at my left hind leg to see a bear lying down at it. I turned back to Twilight, "Hey! That's unfair! That one was behind me!"

"I never said that I couldn't use the ones I already threw." She gave me a sly look, almost as if she were bragging that she had outsmarted me.

"Fine, then you didn't say that I needed to get three consecutive hits on you! And that they don't reset when I get hit!" I returned the look, pointing out a flaw in her plan.

"I know."

My face dropped and formed into a poker face. "...What?"

"I didn't say that they needed to be consecutive because that'd be too hard for you. After all, it'll take you another few hours just to get six straight dodges. Yet alone trying to hit me two more times." The Unicorn brought up another four bears, and fired one at me.

I teleported out of the way and readied myself. "Fine then, give me your absolute best. I'll show you that I can beat you."

"Okay then." Twilight disappeared in a small flash.

"What!? She can use teleportation magic too?" I looked around for her, priming myself to use magic.

"Above you."

I looked up and saw Twilight laying in a tree, several toys above her. She flung one at me, which hit me before I had time to react. "So you can use teleportation too?"

"Yep. Along with this." Her horn glowed brightly, and suddenly dozens of footsteps could be heard nearby.

I turned to see that all of the toys had come to life and were marching towards me. "What the hell!? How're they doing that!?" I jumped backwards, trying to get away from them.

"Animation." A smug voice called from the trees.

"You can use two types of magic? I thought peop- Ponies could only use one type!" I teleported to the other side of the army, running whilst they didn't know I was there.

"No, Ponies can use any type of magic that they have a talent for. You probably have more than one too, but the first you found was teleportation. And we don't have enough time for you to learn more, so that's why I'm helping you practise this." The army turned and quickly closed in on me, before all falling down.

"W-what? Did you just-?"

"Yep, I stopped the animation. We wouldn't progress anywhere if I kept using it, so it's best that we return to how we were." Twilight teleported again and appeared on the ground, by the tree.

"Okay, thanks..." I sighed, feeling a little relieved to no longer have a miniature military chasing after me. I looked back at my mentor, "Now to finish it up!"

"Don't be too hasty, we still have plenty of time left." Twilight's horn glowed, several toys following it's light and moving towards me.

* * *

_On a cloud above the field..._

Princess Luna lay there, watching Jake and Twilight fling toys at each other and dodging them. "Hmm... although I admit that I'm extremely curious as to why he's an Alicorn, I don't see why my sister was so interested in him. He just acts like a normal pony, just a little weirder." She placed a hoof under her chin and lowered her head, resting it on her wrist. "She said that I need to meet him to know what he's like, so should I go down there? They're practising for what Sis told them to prepare for on the letter, so now wouldn't be a good time. Maybe he'll have a free day soon, I should probably introduce myself then. But until then," Luna stood up and got ready to fly away, "I'll leave him to prepare." Luna flew away, rising above some clouds to remain undetected.

* * *

"Yes!" I landed back, panting heavily. _That's eight straight dodges! Just two more and a single hit on Twilight! I can do this! _"So, how long have we been going at it now?"

"Around four hours..." A slight pant coming from her voice. "You're doing quite a bit better than I thought." Twilight sent a bear at me at high-speed, with me only narrowly able to teleport in time.

"Hehe... only... one dodge left. And a... single hit." I struggled to stay standing up, my body exhausted from this.

"Yeah, but I'm not done yet!" Twilight gathered seven dolls above her head, and fired six of them one after the other at me.

I teleported quickly, only just avoiding most of the dolls. The others I ducked under, seeing as I had already reached the score I needed. _Okay, if I get really close then she won't be able to get me. Then I can get her with the toy by her hind leg. Alright, let's go!_

Twilight readied herself to fire the final toy, before I teleported and appeared in front of her. At the sudden appearance of me being so close to her, the purple Unicorn's heart skipped a beat and her face flushed bright red. Causing her to fall on her haunches and lose her concentration, making her drop the last toy onto her head. Meaning that I won!

"...He...hehe... I won!" I laid back on the grass. "I won against you! Hahaha!" I lay on the ground, filled with a low level ecstasy. After a few moments, I fell asleep from exhaustion.

Twilight sat there, her heart pounding and her face still very much red. _W...what? Why is my heart beating so quickly? And my face feels really hot. _She looked over to Jake, who was fast asleep on the ground. _I don't think he used another spell... _"Oh... yeah." Twilight looked at her feet (Is that the right term? 'Hooves' sounds fore-legged :/) and saw the doll. "He beat me, didn't he?"

The field was peaceful again, the gentle breeze whistling past it and over the grass. The purple Unicorn looked back over to her sleeping friend, and then towards the sky.

"It's beginning to get a little dark," Twilight looked back at Jake, "Guess we should head home, then." She stood up and gathered all of the scattered toys before walking over to Jake, teleporting both of them back to the library.

She took the toys and put them back into a chest in her room. Afterwards she went back down and picked Jake up, levitating him upstairs and into his bed. She stood over him, looking at his sleeping face and smiling a little. Not knowing why she did so though. Being pretty tired herself, she proceeded into her room and lay down on her bed. She picked up a book on a shelf near her bed and began reading it, the book's spine reading "Fast Hearts and Butterfly Stomachs". Twilight's eyes widening and her mouth curving into a smile at what she was reading. Before long, she also went to sleep. Having blissful dreams as she did...

* * *

**Done! Finally! I've been spending almost every last drop of my spare time making this.**

**As I said earlier, to make it up to all of you I'll be releasing two Chapters tomorrow. This is a promise! ;)**

**Anyway, leave a review about the good, bad and the myeh! :D**

**Until next time, Bye bi!**


	8. Chapter 8: The 5th Day: Rest & Rotation

**Author's note: Well, that promise went to crap... Fanfiction just deleted all of the progress on Chapters 8 and 9... -.- I was far too tired to begin them again, so can the double Chapter wait until Tomorrow, Saturday or Sunday? Pretty please? (Insert cleverly made pleading face here)**

**And I'm really sorry for it being very late, but I've also lost my will to work on this for a little while. Just a few hours, nothing more.**

* * *

**Well I've gained permission to use the internet on my laptop at College, so I'll probably be releasing Chapters a little earlier on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays :D**

**This Chapter was rather hard to write so I hope I did okay, I've never been good with romantic planning for stories. But I'll still try anyway! :) **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Twilight stood there, looking over Jake as he slept in his bed. Watching him turn about in his sleep and pull the occasional funny face, making her snicker a little every time. The time at the moment is 5:37 A.M. Twilight _was_ asleep, but she woke up and couldn't send herself back. And so she came into Jake's room to see if he was having the same troubles, but only to stand there feeling somewhat satisfied at watching him sleep peacefully. It's been around 10 minutes since the mare walked into his room, and she hasn't once broken her gaze at him. She slowly approached him and crawled onto his bed, laying at the edge to ensure she didn't wake him before snuggling up to him and nuzzling her nose into his auburn mane. Her earlier insomnia slowly began to dissipate as a comfortable warmness took over her body, lulling her into a deep sleep next to the brown stallion. Wishing that the time when they woke up wouldn't come in a hurry...

* * *

**11:46 A.M.**

Twilight sat up and rubbed her eyes, feeling happy about her dream. "Mmn, that was a good dream. And I got to-!" _What!? _Twilight opened her eyes in shock as she saw the rest of the bed to be empty. "H-...he's gone..? Wait...did he wake up and see me? He must've done, there's no way he couldn't have seen me. Oh no!" She brought her hooves to her face, "He saw me... sleeping next to him. He knows that I snuck in here and slept in his bed without his permission!" Her face started to glow bright red, and her voice became slightly shaky. "B-but maybe it's not all b-bad. After all, h-he didn't wake me up o-or move me, d-does that mean h-he didn't mind?" She looked back to the bed's empty space, an imprint and a messy quilt being all that remained. "B-but how do I ask him? Do I just say 'Hey, didn't you mind that I slept next to you last night? Because I'm really glad you didn't.' I can't say that! And was he inferring anything by leaving me be? No, what if he was too annoyed to move me? Ah I can't think!" A small noise could be heard from downstairs, Twilight looked at the door and began to panic. "Uh oh, what do I do? If I confront him he might be mad, but he may want me to talk to him! I don't know what to do!" The sound of a wooden door closing pushed its way up the stairs and to Twilight's ears. "He went out? This may be my chance!" Twilight hopped out of bed and ran to the stairs. "I'll prepare him some food for when he gets back. Then he won't be mad anymore, or he may even be really happy!" She smiled at the thought as she trotted into the kitchen, but then she stopped suddenly. "But what if he's already eaten? Should I go find him? Maybe we could go for a walk somewhere! Wait, it may be too soon. Maybe we could just talk. We haven't actually just spoken to each other without the mention training yet, after all. Yeah!" Twilight walked out of the kitchen and out through the front door. "I'll go look for him and then invite him to talk with me. But wait, that sounds weird. What if I 'coincidentally' run into him? Then we can talk!" She shut the door and began searching for Jake.

"..." I lay on the floor, staring at the wall in front of me with my tail dangling in front of my face. I had somehow fallen out of bed and landed on the back of my neck, I also have a strange pain in my back as if I were punched. The strangest part of all of it is the fact that I somehow slept through it all. I surprise even myself. "Alley oop!" I rolled onto my haunches and stood up, proceeding to the door and into the hallway. "Twilight said that today would be the last day that I'd stay here, I wonder what sort of training she has planned?" I made my way down the stairs and looked around, unable to find Twilight within the immediate proximity. "Twilight? Are you down here?" No response came through, so I walked into the kitchen to eat. Afterwards I went back into the main room, calling out once more and getting no reply yet again. "Guess she's not around. Maybe she left a note somewhere?" After checking around the library, I returned to my former position. "Huh. She just, left. Oh well," I donned my cloak and opened the library doors. "Guess I'll be heading out for a while then. I've never been out for a stroll around Ponyville before, after all."

As I was about to depart, Spike walked up to the open door. "Hey Corpus. Are you heading out somewhere?" He asked, looking at me slightly puzzled.

"Yeah, Twilight's not in and I don't have any instructions for my training. So I thought that I'd go for a stroll around Ponyville."

"Oh, okay. So what's Twilight out for?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Dunno. She might be hanging out with the others."

"Yeah, probably. Though I don't think AJ's free today." Spike placed a hand on his chin, lost temporarily in thought.

"AJ?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Applejack. It's just short for her name." Spike let his arm down again.

"Oh, right. Is she busy or something?"

"Well helping run an Apple farm takes up a lot of time, so she doesn't hang out with the others as much."

"Huh, never knew she helped run it too. Must be pretty tiring."

"Yeah," Spike began rubbing the back of his head, "I watched her and Twilight at the farm once, never been so bored or exhausted."

I chuckled "Don't blame ya. I'd be bored to death too if I had to sit there doing nothing."

Spike laughed too. "Yeah, tell me about it." He walked past me and into the library.

"Oh, Spike?" I turned to catch him.

He turned around to face me, "Yeah?"

"If Twilight comes back before I do, could you tell her that I just went for a walk around town? And do you know of anywhere good to stop for lunch? I'll probably be out for a while."

"Sure. I'll tell her as soon as she comes back. And I recommend 'The Chorky Horse' for lunch, their hayburgers are DEE-lish!" Spike formed a circle with his index claw and thumb. "It's just a little South from Rarity's boutique."

"Thanks, well I'm off!" I called back as I exited the library and began my exploration around Ponyville.

* * *

Twilight ran by several ponies, still searching around for Jake so she could 'coincidentally' see him. She stopped occasionally to take a quick look around before continuing on. "Where could he be? He only left a minute or so before me so he couldn't have gotten far." She slowed and entered a slow walk before stopping at the town hall, looking around whilst breathing somewhat heavily. "Maybe I should ask someone if they've seen him."

"Yeah!" A voice boomed out from the sky, Twilight looked up to see a rainbow-brand streak across the expanse in front of her. Coming back, Rainbow caught sight of Twilight and flew down to her, staying aloft above Twilight's head. "Hey Twilight! Did you see my spiraling dive just then? It was so AWESOME!" Rainbow flung her arms forward, a cheerful expression on her face.

"Hey Dash. No I missed it, sorry." She began looking around again.

"You looking for something?" Rainbow brought her back up a little.

"Somepony, actually." She turned to face the Pegasus. "You wouldn't have happened to see Corpus anywhere, would you?"

"No, haven't seen him since the party. Oh yeah, how was he afterwards? Was he still drunk and dancing around? That was hilarious!" She began laughing, bending over slightly in mid-air.

"He was a little woozy when he woke up, but nothing other than that."

Rainbow's laughter ceased, wiping a tear from her eye. "Do you want any help finding him? It'd be a lot easier with eyes in the sky as well as on the ground."

Looking up at her, Twilight smiled. "Sure, I'd love your help Dash. Could you search the East of town while I search the West? Meet me here in one hour."

"Sure thing Twi! I'm right on it!" And with that she sped away, leaving another trailband behind her.

Twilight galloped off in the opposite direction, intent on finding him.

* * *

Hmm... I stopped in front of a small market district-like place, taking a look at the several stands selling all kinds of edible goods. I approach one of the vendors who was selling brownies and various other baked delights. Only that there was a single brownie left, and I want it... "Hello."

"Afternoon sir, what can I do you for?" He seemed to look a little strangely at my cloak, I need to find a new way to hide my wings...

"Well, I was just wondering how much a brownie cost." I stared at the luscious chocolate-coated piece of heaven, my mouth beginning to salivate at the sight of it.

"That'd be one bit for two sir."

"Alright, I'll just..." Oh yes, no money. Nor do I have a place to keep it... I was too busy thinking of what to do to hear the vendor say this next bit.

"But I suppose as how there's only one left, you can have it for free... sir?"

_How am I gonna pay for it? I have no money or a job..._

As I was pondering about my predicament, a sky blue-ish turquoise unicorn with a white and blue mane walked up to the stand. She purchased a few cookies and the vendor gave her the brownie, free of charge. I stood in awe as the unicorn just tried to give it back, saying that she didn't want a brownie.

"If you don't want it, then I'll happily take it off your hands- er, hooves." My full attention was fixated on the brownie, nothing else mattered.

The mare looked at me, "Oh, well if you want it," She levitated the brownie over to me, smiling as she did so, "Then please take it."

My mouth opened wide, I watched as the pure bliss of this world came floating to me as I licked my lips. Accepting the brownie from her with my magic, I turned to her. "Thank you so much, erm..."

"Lyra, Lyra Heartstrings. And don't thank me, I'm not too fond of getting stuff without earning it."

"Thank you anyway!" She smiled and then turned to leave, taking her goods with her. I stuffed the brownie into my mouth without second thought and lovingly savoured the flavour and texture of heaven. After every last morsel of it had been enjoyed to its fullest, I returned to looking around town. Getting to know it better if I were to be living here.

* * *

Twilight rushed back to where Rainbow was waiting, panting ever so slightly when she arrived. "Did you find him?"

"Not yet, but I did run into Lyra. She said that she earlier saw a brown Unicorn wearing a cloak and looking at a brownie in a funny way."

"Really? Where? He might still be there!" She lifted her right foreleg slightly, ready to run off to the location given.

"I don't think he'll still be there..." Rainbow scratched the back of her head. "She said that she saw him around 40 minutes ago."

"Oh..." Twilight's head dropped a little and her ears fell to the sides of her head.

"So tell me, why do you want to find him so badly? You've never searched for somepony this frantically without it being urgent."

Twilight brought her head up and looked like she were a mixture between shocked and flustered. "W-well, no specific reason." _What do I do? I can't tell her my feelings, can I? _

Rainbow approached her and raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean? You obviously have a reason if you're wearing yourself out like this!" Rainbow glared at her with sharp, suspicious eyes.

Twilight backed her head away slightly, still unsure of whether to tell her friend or not. She looked to the floor to her side, "U-uh... well, yeah. I, do kinda have a reason... but," She looked back up to Rainbow, "Could I tell you some other time?"

Dash lowered her brow at Twilight, before flying back up and huffing a little, turning her head. "Fine. But you gotta promise me that you'll talk! Got it?"

Twilight smiled, "Of course." Rainbow nodded and began to fly off, "Wait!" She stopped and turned back to Twilight, "Where do you think he'll be if he's not around here?"

"Try back at home, we've been out for a while so he might have headed back."

"...Of course!" She galloped off towards the library, turning her head back briefly, "Thanks Dash!"

Dash smirked, changing her position and placing a hoof on her chest. "Heh! No prob Twi!"

She smiled and turned her head back, focusing on where she was going.

Dash lowered her body's gradient, getting ready to fly off. "Anyway, back to my afternoon exercises!" She took off, leaving a rainbow coloured trailband in her wake.

* * *

Twilight arrived at the library, opening the door and walking in. "Corpus, you here?" She looked about the room, only seeing Spike with a small pile of books.

"Oh, hey Twilight." Spike started putting the books on the shelves, "How's your day been?"

She continued to look around a bit more, "Pretty good. Say, do you know where Corpus is?"

Spike moved a book to the side with his hand, placing another book in its former place. "Sort of. I know that he left the house after you did to go for a walk, but that's about it."

"Wait, after I did?" She furrowed her brow.

"Yeah, he left about an hour and a half ago." He picked up another book.

"But he left first, I heard him walk out of the front door after I woke up!" She pushed her head towards Spike.

Spike raised an eyebrow to her. "That was probably me. Corpus was still fast asleep when I left to take out the trash." He placed another book on a shelf.

"Oh, well that makes sens-..." Twilight's face fell red and her speech stammered, "...S-Spike? H-how do y-you know if Corpus was a-asleep?"

"Well I saw his leg sticking out from the side of his bed, I'm guessing that you accidentally kicked him off. You should really apologize about that."

Twilight fell on her flank, looking at Spike in surprise. "W-what do you mean? I d-didn't sleep in Corpus' bed."

"Yes you did. I saw you fast asleep in his bed." Spike placed the final book on the shelf and turned to face Twilight, "But I don't blame you, it was pretty cold last night."

"...What?"

"Well I assumed that you slept in his bed to warm up with him, after all you left the window open all night. It was freezing when I woke up this morning."

"Ah, yeah. You caught me." Twilight pulled a childish face as a facade, going along with what Spike suspected. "So you have no idea where he might be?"

Spike placed a hand to his chin, "Well, he might be at 'The Chorky Horse' getting some lunch. So you'll probably find him there."

"Okay, thanks Spike!" Twilight turned to the door, about to leave.

"So what did you want him for?"

Twilight turned her head, quickly trying to think of an answer. "Um, just to talk about his magic training. I want him to continue it as much as he can, and try to get better at his spells.

"Oh okay, I wish you luck." Spike waved at Twilight, giving her the 'OK' to leave.

She nodded and headed out of the door, on her way to the restaurant.

* * *

"Hmm... so this is it. 'The Chorky Horse'..." I stood in front of a nicely styled restaurant, intricate carvings on the wooden exterior. How could ponies make those carvings? They can't even hold knives or chisels...

Dismissing the thought, I walked into the building and was blown away by the amazing decor inside. I was greeted by a dull grey earth pony, whom was wearing a shirt, waistcoat, and an extremely bored looking face. "Good afternoon sir, would you like me to show you to a table?" A deep, dry voice left his lips.

"Um, yes please..." His voice scares me a little...

The waiter took me over to a table with two seats by the window, giving me a nice view of the town beyond it. He pulled a chair out for me and stood back. "Would you like me to take your garb sir?"

"No thank you, I'm alright..." That voice is REALLY creepy!

"Be it as it may. I'll return to take your order shortly." He walked towards the door, greeting two new ponies who had just walked in.

I turned to the window and let my mind begin to wander a bit, but then something unexpected caught my eye...

* * *

Twilight had finally made it to the restaurant, panting heavily as she had used up most of her stamina running about. She slowed to a gentle walk and moved about the building by its side, taking a few glances inside to try and spot Corpus. She then saw him sat right at the window, staring off into space. Her heart lightened and a smile grew on her face as she stared at him, feeling so relieved to see him again. Then he suddenly snapped back to reality and looked at her, his green eyes meeting her's of purple. Staring at each other for a few seconds before Twilight broke out of her gaze and made her way to the front door.

Walking in, she was greeted by the waiter. "Good afternoon Ma'am, would you like me to show you to a table?"

A shiver ran down Twilight's spine, the voice affecting everyone who meets it. "Uh, no thanks. My friend's expecting me."

"Be it as it may." The waiter moved to one side, allowing Twilight to walk past and make her way to Corpus.

"Hey." Twilight stood next to a chair, pulling it out with her magic.

I smiled, "Hey, so what're you doing out here?"

Twilight sat down on the chair. "Nothing much, just spoke to Dash and went around town with her. What about you?"

"Well I just went for a stroll around Ponyville, I went into a market-like district and got a free brownie from a unicorn there! I think her name was Lyra? Something like that, I've still got to thank her properly though. Anyway, after that I found the town hall and made my way over to a fountain in the middle of town. There was a small performance going on behind it, it was pretty good." I smiled, thinking back at the events.

"Would you like to order? Me and Twilight both sat up, a shiver running through our spines.

I shakily turned my head, "Y-yeah... I'll have a hayburger please..." I turned to Twilight. "And you?"

She seemed just as creeped out, her voice ever so slightly shaky. "I'll have the same... please..."

The waiter wrote the orders on a note pad and slipped it into a pocket on his waistcoat. "Be it as it may. Your food shall arrive shortly."

I simply nodded my head, feeling afraid to express outward emotion towards him.

"...He scares me..." I whimpered when he was out of earshot.

"Mm, he makes me uneasy too." Twilight looked back to Corpus, staring at his green eyes as he watched the waiter turn into the kitchen. Her gaze was broken as she looked at the window, something catching her eye. But there was nothing there. Brushing it off as a trick, she looked back to Corpus.

Rainbow hid behind the wall next to the window, "Crap! Did she see me?" After a few seconds, Dash peeped her head around the corner and looked back in through the window. Seeing Twilight sat down, talking to someone. Then a waiter came along with a tray of food, Rainbow quickly hid behind the wall again to avoid being caught. "Who's she with? I can't see..." She once again poked her head around, seeing the waiter leave and Twilight lift a hayburger to her mouth. Dash quickly moved out from the window side, getting a full view of the scene as Twilight closed her eyes. Standing there in temporary shock as she saw Twilight on a date... with Corpus.

"Mm, these hayburgers are great! Aren't they Twi?" I gulped down the morsel of the burger that was in my mouth.

"Yeah, they are!" Twilight opened her eyes, looking over to the window again. Swearing that she saw something this time, but shrugged it off again as nothing was there.

"You okay Twi? You keep looking at the window." I followed her eyes and looked at the empty area beyond the glass pane.

"Yeah," She smiled, "I'm alright."

Far above the ground, Rainbow was keeping herself aloft with her wings. Still not quite processing or believing what she saw. "Twilight, has a coltfriend? As unbelievable as it is, they're already dating after just five days!" She placed a hoof to her chin, pondering in thought. "This must be why Twi wanted to find him so desperately earlier. But, if she knew they were eating out, then she wouldn't have looked so hard. Unless," Rainbow's eyes widened, "SHE was the one who planned it? Hehe, wow. I can't believe how confident Twilight's become. I never took her for the type to initiate the date." Dash smiled and a small squeal escaped her closed mouth. "I'm happy for her. I've gotta tell the others! They'll be just as happy as I am!" With that, Dash took off. A single cyan feather floating back to the ground.

* * *

**So how was it? Enough of a twist?**

**Still pretty pissed about the whole "Bye bye 6000 words!" thing, so I've resorted to listening to music to calm ze nerves. And thus, I've got a lovely piece of auditory work stuck in my head. :)**

**Here's the link for all of you to suffer from: /watch?v=o8Y7k3eB2is&feature=related Don't worry, it's good. Just that it won't leave your head :3**

**Seeing as how this set-back has caused me to be two days behind schedule, I shall be releasing two sets of double Chapters. The fun has been DOUBLED! :D**

**Anywho, review on the good, the bad, and the myeh!**

**Bye bi!**


	9. Chapter 9: The 5th Evening: A New Phase

**Author's note: Unfortunately I'm reaching my limit. The rather large amount of sleep deprivation that's been building up is  
beginning to take a bit of a toll on me. :P And so I'm going to (Really hopefully) temporarily move to a Chapter every two days until I regain  
my previous state. But during this period, I may release a Chapter a day on odd occasion. But don't worry, it's (As I said) temporary,  
before You know it I'll be uploading daily again! :D**

**My nerves have settled and I've followed Spacecowboy's and a Guest's advice in making the drafts on G-mail :) Thanks for the suggestion!**

**I also went through a ton of debating in this Chapter of whether to do this or that, so tell me what you think of it.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I finished the last of my burger, sitting back in satisfaction. "That was so much better than I thought it'd be. And I had pretty high expectations to start with!"

Twilight sat back up too and smiled, "I know. I didn't think the food here was so good."

"I've come with your bill, sir and Madam..." Our good feeling ended immediately, a horrid voice making our stomachs turn.

I turned my head, making sure not to make eye contact. "T-thanks..." He placed the bill on the table, still staring at us. Then something clicked in my head, something which made me feel incredibly stupid... I have no money... I leant my head towards Twilight's and placed my hoof on the side of my mouth, whispering quietly as she leant her head in. "Do you have any money? I just remembered that I don't have any at all..."

"Yeah, I have some on me. So I take it that I'm paying?" A hint of...something... in her voice?

"Ah, well, you see, uhm..." There's no way to answer to this! I have no money! "...yes..."

She sat back and put a smile on her face. "Okay then." She threw down 10 coins onto the table. "That's all the money I have on me, so it should be enough."

"No, you need more if you wish to pay..." The waiter still staring into our souls...

"What?" Twilight brought the receipt to her face, the mouth falling agape. "20 bits!? We only had a burger each!"

"That's the price Ma'am, just let it be as it may."

I heard the sound of coins clanging together, I turn my head towards the front door and see a pony working behind I cash register. Wait... cash register? "Hehe..." A small smile creeped its way onto my face, I turned my head to the waiter. "Actually, could I also get a drink please? Just some orange juice."

Twilight looked at me angrily, "Corpus! What're you doing? We don't have enough money as i-"

"Be it as it may..." The waiter cut her off and turned to get the requested beverage.

Twilight's eyes narrowed at him slightly, before turning back to me. "We don't have the money! You're putting us deeper into dept!"

"Don't worry, I have a plan. So long as you're okay with breaking the law a little..." I looked towards the cash register.

She followed my eyes and turned back to me in shock, "You don't mean we're gonna heist it? That's not how you pay bills! That's just being reckless!"

"Don't worry, it's nothing like that." I kept my eyes on the till, waiting for the pony to let his guard down. Then he opened it to place some money in it, and all of a sudden a mysterious orange aura coated around twenty of the coins in there as the drawer closed. Twenty coins then falling on the table in front of us, Twilight looking up at me from the money and chuckling a little.

"That's still stealing, what if they saw?"

"Don't worry, I did it as the drawer was just about closed. Nobo-...pony, should've seen it."

"I did..." A stone cold tone reached our ears, sounding slightly peeved off. We turned quickly to see the waiter stood there, holding a tray with a glass of orange juice with a straw within it balanced on the tray.

"R-really...? Did you see?" My throat was becoming dry and sweat started to fall down my head, scared crapless by his tone.

"Yes..." He placed the tray on the table, moving the glass over to me. "But most of that will go to my tip, so I don't care..."

"O-oh, thank you..." I shrank back a bit and began drinking my juice, moistening my parched throat.

"So you really don't mind?" Twilight was still sat rather low in her seat, her ears flopping down from uncertainty.

"Correct..." He took the empty glass from me and placed it on the tray, picking it up and swooping the money into a pouch on his waistcoat. "Come..." He walked off to the door, us getting up and following him. We stood at the entrance, him placing some of the money in the cash register and pointed his hoof to the door. "This is a door... it's how you get out of the building, so be careful using it... we don't want any accidents..."

Twilight turned to him,raising an eyebrow. "Accident? Did you have one before?"

"...It was a grey Pegasus with a yellow mane... Brought down half the restaurant..."

I blinked in surprise, "H-half the restaurant? How? What did they do?"

"...I'd rather not say, only that she is the special case..." That sentence was either unfinished or just lacking any general sense.

"...What?"

"Don't worry about it Corpus." Twilight placed a hoof on my back, "I think it's best if you just met her at a later date, she may be a little too much for you too handle at the moment."

"Oh, okay... why?"

Twilight took her hoof off and walked to the door, a slightly pained look on her face. "We should go, it's getting pretty late."

I just raised an eyebrow, about to walk on before the waiter's hoof stopped me. "Remember... be careful, of the door..." After a few seconds he lowered his hooves.

I slowly walked past him, giving him a look of sheer wonder. _What the fricking hell...? I'm not an idiot, I know how a door works! _I turn my head back to the entrance and get hit in the face by a closing door. "Ggh, crap!" I held my throbbing nose, the pain making my eyes begin to water.

"Ah! I'm sorry, are you alright Corpus?" Twilight re-opened the door and ran to me.

"Yep! Just fine! Just a little pain in my nose, that's all." I looked back up and took a few steps forward, placing my hoof on the door. I turned back to the waiter, "What the hell is in this door? It felt like a thick plate of iron was smashed into my face."

"...Re-inforced lead..." His face still unchanging

My mouth dropped in awe, "Why would you make a door to a restaurant out of re-inforced lead? That stuff weighs a ton!"

"...Her...it's our precaution..."

"Is she really that bad?" Hey! Just realised, I'm getting used to his voice!

"...Scaringly sir, scaringly..."

We all stood in awkward silence, me noticing that everyone in the restaurant was now looking at us, probably because of my outbursts... I awkwardly turned to Twilight. "We should probably get going. Now-ish." She nodded and we departed, me dreading the thought of meeting the catastrophe that managed to destroy half a restaurant on their own...

* * *

_In a park in the Eastern part of Ponyville..._

"Really?" Rarity was taken back, placing a hoof over her mouth in a very aristocratic manner. "Are you telling the truth Rainbow Dash? That doesn't sound like our Twilight at all."

"Of course I am! I wouldn't make something like this up. Besides, I saw them in 'The Chorky Horse' having lunch, laughing. Just after Twi asked me to help her look all over Ponyville for him, you can't say that this doesn't mean something!"

"You mean that excessively expensive place!?" Rainbow just nodded and Rarity pushed her raised hoof to her mouth, "Hmm..." After a few seconds of pondering, she lowered her hoof and took a step closer to Dash. "I admit, it seems very peculiar. And whilst I'm overjoyed that Twilight's gotten herself a stallion, a rather high-class one at that, I'm concerned that she may not want anyone to know about them yet."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Why the hay not? Everyone else should have a right to know and be happy for her like us!" She pouted slightly, showing discontent at having to keep quiet.

"Because it's a personal matter, Dash. Would you like everypony knowing about when you get a coltfriend?" She took another few steps forward and turned her head to the side, flaring her mane back and placing a hoof upon her chest, "I for one would hate for everypony to know about a special somepony in my life when it's just starting out."

"Yeah well that's you, I'd want all of my friends to know straight away! There's no way I'd keep it from them!" Dash landed and raised her head over Rarity, looking at her sternly.

The unicorn turned her head back to Dash, giving her a slightly 'huffy' look. "What if there was the chance of it not working out? How would you feel if you told all of your friends about a marvellous colt you were dating and for it to fall to pieces a few days later?"

"Hmph! I wouldn't care. If it doesn't work out, then it doesn't. There's no need to be all hung up on it and moping around, it obviously shows that he wouldn't be the right stallion!" Dash lowered her neck to its natural height and turned her head away from Rarity, still looking somewhat ticked off.

"But nopony's as mentally strong as you, Rainbow. This is Twilight's first love, and it would break her heart if he left her without anyone knowing of them in the first place. Yet alone the shame and humiliation she would feel if she knew of her short relationship and how it came crashing down just after she felt happy about it." Rarity stood in front of Dash and placed a hoof on her shoulder, "Even you would feel sad at something like that happening. But because you're strong, you would easily be able to hide it from us, but Twilight isn't, and so we have to be considerate for her feelings too."

Dash looked back at Rarity, seeing her almost pleading face she sighed. "Fine. I won't tell anyone else."

Rarity smiled and removed her hoof from Dash's shoulder, "I'm glad you understand. So who else did you tell?"

"AJ and Fluttershy, but Applejack's too busy on the farm to tell anyone and Fluttershy... well, she's not too good with being social with many ponies. So it's safe with her too. I couldn't find Pinkie so she doesn't know yet, I was going to find her after I told you, but I can see that's not happening anymore."Dash had a tired and slightly aggravated look in her eyes.

"Well, I suppose that's alright. So long as no-one mentions any of this to Twilight before she tells us, then we have nothing to worry about." Rarity smiled, "Now come," She walked away from the bench they were stood at and towards the boutique, "I'll make you some tea."

Rainbow followed in suit, still feeling down for not being allowed to be openly happy for her friend.

* * *

We arrived back at the library a little after six, losing track of time as we explored Ponyville and chatted along the way. I opened the door and saw Spike and Owlo...Owlowowishhh... Fuck it, the owl sitting down playing a game of cards. From the way they are playing, I would guess it's 'Pairs'... and the Owl was winning.

"Darn it! How do you keep winning?" Spike brought his curled hand onto his knee.

"Hoo."

Spike facepalmed, "Not this again, you!"

"Hoo."

"You!"

"...Hoo."

"You! Owlowicious!" Aha! That's how you say it! Owlowishh... Owlwolocious... I give up, this is depressing me...

"You okay Spike?" Twilight walked in and up to Spike.

"Yeah," Spike pointed towards The Owl With The Completely unpronounceable Name. "Except HE won't stop saying 'Who?' when I'm clearly talking about him!" Spike glared at Towtcun... what? It's my new name for him.

"Uh, y'know he's an owl right? That's all they do say." Twilight raised a slightly concerned eyebrow at him.

"Really!? Then, all this time-!"

"Hoo."

"I didn't even say a name! Don't 'Hoo' at me mid-sentence! D'you know how rude it is to cut someone off mid-sente-Ugh, *Belching sound*

I flame shot out of Spike's mouth, materializing into a letter in front of my eyes.

"Woah!" My mouth fell onto its hinges, "How did you do that? That's beyond magic, that's completely transforming matter into another substance!" My eyes started glistening with wonder. The magic beforehand I could somewhat understand, using personal energy to achieve certain tasks, but THIS is beyond explanation!

Spike blushed, catching the letter. "Well, it's just a basic dragon ability. I don't know how it works though. Anyway, ahem!" Spike opened the letter, and began reading in a royal tone:

_My most Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle:_

_I'm sending this letter to you in regards to Corpus. He is to meet the next pony whom will be  
looking after him in front of the Ponyville fountain in two hours. And, like with you, he shall be staying there for five days.  
I hope that you have helped him find his magical expertise and have tutored him in the various ways in  
which it can be used._

_As for now, it'd be best for you two to get Corpus' stuff collected together ready for tomorrow. He shall be learning something very important over the  
next few days that will surely help him on many occasions in the future._

_Spike, can you hand over the letter to Twilight please? The next part is for her eyes only._

"Oh." Spike held the letter away from himself and over to Twilight. "Here, it's for you."

The letter glowed with a magenta aura and flew over to her, "Thank you Spike." Twilight began reading the letter to herself, her eyes scanning across the parchment and taking in Celestia's words.

"Wait... that letter was from Celestia?" I looked at Spike, almost completely dumbfounded.

He looked at me confused. "Yeah? She's the only pony we get letters from."

My mind was blown away, the situation being incomprehensible to me. "What!? So you're able to pull of not just matter materialization and transformation, but also teleportation!? And all of this is done in a passive ability which you don't know how to use?" I ran over to Spike and picked him up, standing on my hind legs. "This is amazing! How can you pull off such amazing magic without even knowing how!?" My eyes glistened as a part of me I had no idea existed surfaced, taking an unmatchable interest in Spike's abilities and how they worked.

"I-I don't know." Spike began struggling against my grip, trying to break free but soon giving up. "Can you let go of me, please? I don't like being held up."

"Hm? Oh, right. Hehe..." I lowered Spike as my usual mental state took over again. _But I wanna know! Can all dragons do this? I want answers! I want to know how it all works!_

"Spike?" Twilight lowered the letter and looked over at him, "Could you send a letter to the Princess?"

"Of course." Spike pulled out a quill and parchment from behind his back... I've still no idea where everybody's keeping those hidden...

"Oh no, I won't need you to write the letter too. I need to write to the Princess privately." Twilight smiled, her horn glowing and the parchment and quill following the same suit of colour.

"Okay then." Spike releasing his hold on the items, allowing them to fly over to Twilight.

"Thank you Spike." The quill started moving against the paper, scrawling down Twilight's message. After a few seconds she was finished, "Done. Now if you will Spike." She looked over to Spike with a somewhat proud tone, levitating the parchment to him after sealing it with a ribbon and seal.

"Sure thing." Spike grabbed the scroll and walked over to an open window. He took a deep breath in and blew out a breath of green fire, which vaporised the letter and made it fly out of the window as a cloud of purple dust, automatically moving to its recipient. "Aaand, it's done." He patted his hands together, moving them up and down in opposing directions.

I stood there in awe, witnessing the dragon's abilities up close had filled me with a temporary high as I used every last bit of my willpower to keep myself from going into the hype again. After a few seconds my previous mental state had returned, bringing me back out of my high. I turned my head to Twilight, "So what did you write down?"

She chuckled and held her head up, walking to the other side of the room. "Well it was a private message, so..." She looked back at me when she stopped, giving me a clear indication of where she was going.

"Ah, right. Of course, sorry." I gave her a sheepish smile, only for her to give a little laugh.

"Well, we only have two hours left until you leave, so how about we all have some food and say our 'Goodbyes' to Corpus? Sound good?"

Me, Spike and Towtcun all nodded our heads, eagerly heading into the kitchen for a final meal before my departure. And before we knew it, an hour and a half had flown by, leaving me with only thirty minutes to reach the fountain and the Pony I was to be staying with for a few days.

"Well, I'm off!" I called back into the library, donned in the cloak Celestia had given me. I looked back to see Spike sat on Twilight's back and Towtcun perched on a small piece of wood on the desk, Twilight just stood there smiling at me.

"Okay, we'll all see you soon!" Twilight enthusiastically replied.

"Yeah," Spike stood up and waved, "We'll see you soon!"

I nodded my head and made my way through the front door. On my way to the town's central area.

Twilight still stood there, thinking to herself. _Thank you, Princess. I promise that I won't give up, no matter what..._

* * *

_25 minutes later at the fountain..._

I arrived at the fountain a few minutes early, and so I was forced to wait for a little while longer for the other to arrive. After fifteen minutes of waiting and seeing pony after pony walk past, heading either to their homes or wherever, it was becoming increasingly evident that she wouldn't be arriving. So I turned to head back to Twilight's when I bumped into somebody, knocking them onto their flank.

"Ah, sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I looked down and offered a hoof to the pony, then realising who it was.

The figure lifted their head and immediately looked back down, speaking in an almost inaudible tone which clarified their identity. "I-it's okay... Y-you didn't mean i-it..." She slowly stood, her mane covering one eye as she shyly glanced at me and back to the ground. "I...I guess that we should be going back to my house... Uh- I mean, if you want to... of course..." She shrank back in what I could only guess would be fear.

"Uh... sure. That's, what Celestia wants us to do..." And I thought that _I_ was an introvert... "So, where exactly are we going?

"To my cottage... just outside of Ponyville. It's not a far walk, so don't worry about getting tired..." She still wouldn't look up, her gaze fixed to the floor.

"Okay... well, you can look up you know? I'm not going to eat you." For several reasons such as Cannibalism and its punishments, The fact that I don't like horse, and Because Equines are herbivores.

A squeak escaped through her mane, what the hell it was supposed to represent? I haven't the faintest...

"So... shall we get going? We're gonna need some sleep for tomorrow, right?" I tried subtly saying that we needed to go, only for her to nod slightly and walk towards, what I'd imagine to be, her cottage. Following her, I quietly muttered. "This is gonna be a loooong five days..." We kept walking as night gradually came closer, until we reached a small fairy tale-like cottage on the outskirts of town.

* * *

**Yay! Finally slept enough to stay awake to finish it! :D Stiiiill sleep deprived though.**

**On another note, thanks again spacecowboy and whomever you may be mystery Guest for the recommendation! It's bound to save me from a  
lot of stress in future, especially when the internet crashes all of a sudden. :P**

**Anyway... secrets, secrets and more secrets! What little conversation between Celestia and Twilight is happening? And why was Twilight so easy about Corpus' departure? I'll leave you with those buzzing on your minds XD**

**Anywho, review on the good, the bad and the myeh! Until next time,**

**Bye bi!**


	10. Chapter 10: The 6th Morning: Taking Care

**Author's note: Hello~! Welcome to Chapter 10! :D**

**Apologies for another late Chapter, I'll be picking up the speed to keep them coming.**

**Yet again, I was faced with a lot obstacles in making this Chapter. The hardest part was thinking of enough content... not really the most helpful thing to be lacking :/ Fluttershy's such a character that it's too easy to make her scene pop, so having Chapters surrounding her is a wee bit hard at times.**

**Nevertheless I feel that this Chapter went somewhat well despite this, but tell me what you think :)**

**And don't worry, there is a plot and it will be surfacing fairly soon! ;)**

* * *

**Also as a side note, this story continuously has Corpus' thoughts appearing between lines of dialogue and actions. But there are 3 different types of thoughts, it's possible that a few of you may have figured them out, but I'll just iterate for all who haven't :)**

**Firstly, his normal thoughts are in **normal text**. These thoughts aren't directed towards anyone but rather just allow us to see the workings of his mind. These aren't part of the story, but are more like a monologue that are only known to us.**

**Secondly, his inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These thoughts are the ones which he directly addresses to himself and are part of the actual story, they will affect his actions and the reactions of others within the story.**

**And lastly, his sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. These thoughts appear as conversations between him and his sub-conscious, meaning that he has no prior control of them. They could be seen as the dialogue spoken to him by his sub-conscious, like dialogue between him and another character.**

* * *

**Well, now that that's out of the way,**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_My most faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle:_

_I'm afraid I had another reason for sending Corpus to you. You see, he is apparently, or rather was, originally a 'human'. I did a bit of research on what a 'human' is and have discovered that they are somewhat related to Centaurs. Learning this, I'm sure that you'll now find him as interesting as I do and probably have a lot of questions needing answers. But for now, I wish to give you a very important task:_

_Firstly, I'd like you to accommodate him for the next five days and teach him how to use magic. He may have a horn and be as old as you and your friends, but he's still in need of growth. Be sure to teach him the fundamentals and help him let his magic grow, this will be very important for your next task. I shall send you another letter in five days detailing of what you need to do._

_Your's faithfully,  
- Princess Celestia_

* * *

_My most Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle:_

_I'm sending this letter to you in regards to Corpus. He is to meet the next pony whom will be looking after him in front of the Ponyville fountain in two hours. And, like with you, he shall be staying there for five days. I hope that you have helped him find his magical expertise and have tutored him in the various ways in which it can be used._

_As for now, it'd be best for you two to get Corpus' stuff collected together ready for tomorrow. He shall be learning something very important over the next few days that will surely help him on many occasions in the future._

_Spike, can you hand over the letter to Twilight please? The next part is for her eyes only._

_**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI IXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX IXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX **_

_Twilight, I wish to give you your next task. Please meet me at the Canterlot Castle tomorrow morning,  
I'll need your assistance in..._

* * *

We proceeded on, walking along a small dirt path with grass on either side, a vast forest to one side of us. We kept walking like this for another ten or so minutes, until a small naturish cottage surrounded by lush fields and a few small creatures hopping around and over the bridge in front of it came into view. Under the bridge was a small stream of water that didn't seem to be flowing, but the water's clear without any trace of being stagnant, guess the water has a deep current underneath. Once we got a little closer to the cottage I decided to try and initiate a conversation.

"So, this is your house right? It looks pretty nice." My eyes glance over to the Yellow Pegasus next to me, her head still hung rather low down.

One eye glanced up at me and then to the floor again, "Y-yes, this is my house. I'm glad you like it..."

Okay, the shy thing? Cute at first. Now? Borderline annoying because of the awkwardness it creates. Seriously, there's a reason why introverts tend to not form into groups of friends. Because this happens...

We walk over the small bridge and up to the front door, the Pegasus pushes the door open and walks inside, followed by me. The inside was, lest I say, actually pretty cool, its appearance matches and coincides will with the exterior's really well. The walls and ceiling were all wooden with rather quaint carvings and patterns marked into them, wooden furnishings such as a small, blue, round table with a jug and vase neatly placed upon it and a green mantlepiece in a corner. There was also a stone stove in the other corner_... huh, guess that means ponies know how to cook several things. Would be pretty pointless owning a stove otherwise, but I wonder what they can cook... _And there were small wooden stairs leading all around the walls of the house, leading outside through little holes. Looking around, I'd guess that they were for the small white rabbit sleeping in its bed close to the stove. The last remaining features that I could immediately see were the bird houses hanging from the ceiling and along the walls and the flight of wooden stairs on the other side of the room, which would probably lead upstairs.

I was about to speak, when I felt a light patting on my left fore-leg. I looked down and saw a white rabbit that looked rather fed up, he then pointed to the door as if giving me an instruction. Guess he doesn't want me around. "Oh no, Angel. You can't act like that to our guest. He's going to be staying here with us for a few days, so please try to be nice to him, please?"

_...Why does she talk openly to a rabbit as if it's going to respond? Not only that, but she's more confident talking to the rabbit than she is another pers...- pony. Really need to get used to the language system here... Huh, the rabbit's giving her an extremely evil stare...wait, what? He understood her?_

The rabbit turned to me, an evil look in his eyes. He didn't move, just stared...

_Eeesh, that's creepy. Did he read my mind or something?_

He's eyes narrowed and he pointed to the door again, stomping his foot in impatience.

The Pegasus lowered down to his level, speaking in a soft tone again. "Come on Angel, be nice."

The rabbit then looked at her defiantly, stomping his hoof on the ground in rebellion. After seeing that it went nowhere, he gave up and hopped into his bed.

"D-don't you find him... intimidating?" I brought myself slightly closer to her.

"Oh, not at all." She turned to me with her eyes closed and a smile on her face, "Cute little creatures like Angel could never be scary." She opened her eyes and stepped back, partially hiding behind her mane again. It seems that she's still not going to communicate with me properly...

"Even with that scary look he gave you? That sent chills down my spine." My body instinctively shuddered as a demonstration.

"Oh... I've gotten used to it. He really m-means no harm." She lightly brought her hoof across the floor in front of her, almost as if she were bored. Probably just nervousness though.

"Okay, I guess?" How can she be so scared by everything but not **the **scariest thing around? ...And now she's glancing up at me and then back to the floor again... continuously. "Can... I help you?" I raised my eyebrow.

"W-well, I was wondering i-if you, um... wanted to go to bed... now? I-if you want to, of course..." She finally kept her vision on me, but now she's backed away slightly.

I looked to a clock on the wall to check the time. Half Eight. I turned back to her, "Are you sure? It's only eight thirty."

She lowered her head a little more, "O-oh... Well, I thought that it'd be best to get an early night for tomorrow, because we have to get up early... b-but you can stay up, if you r-really want to..."

"Oh, so we're getting an early start tomorrow?" Wasn't expecting her to be the hard-working type.

She just nodded her head, still looking extremely timid.

"Hmm..." Well I can hardly complain if we're going to be working very hard, plus a little extra sleep sounds kinda good. Quite a bit's happened today, after all. "Then, shall we go? To bed?" _Ah crap! That didn't come out as it was supposed to!_

"Y-yes. I'll show you your room..." The Pegasus walked past me and to the stairs, looking back to make sure I was following.

I nodded and followed. _...Thank goodness she's innocent minded. That would have been catastrophic if she misunderstood, especially considering her personality... Wait, she could've told the others! _We were still walking until we reached a spare room upstairs, she started speaking, _If she did that then they would've all been really pissed off! I may have even gotten bucked by Applejack! Crap, that's not a good thought! Okay, okay... keep calm Corpus, if you just watch your speech about her then nothing bad will happen._

"-kay?" I snapped out of my thoughts and looked to the yellow mare next to me.

"P-pardon?"

"I, uh, asked if you were okay... you're sweating a lot and you've got a really scared look on your face..." She hid behind her mane slightly again.

"U-uh," _I should calm down, I'm fine right now after all. _"Yeah, I'm okay. Just, uh... a little warm. Haha..." I laughed nervously as I removed my cloak.

She stared at me, looking without breaking her gaze to even blink. It's slightly creepy... "U-um... you're really not related to the Princess, are you?"

Ohh, that's what she's looking at. "N-no. As I said the other day, I'm from far, far away. I look more or less the same as everyone else there."

"Oh okay... I'm s-sorry for asking such a personal question."

I waved the concern off with my hoof, "Don't worry about it, you were only wondering."

She nodded her head and left the room slowly. "I-I'm going to bed now. Have a good night's sleep, Corpus..." She left the room an turned down the hallway.

_I guess I should probably turn it in for the night too, seeing as how we're going to be working pretty hard tomorrow. _I walk over to my bed, it's nicely made and has a bedside table next to it. I climb into it and lay there, trying to get to sleep.

Two hours passed and I'm still laid there, unable to sleep. "...Why can't I sleep? There's nothing wrong with the bed, it's really comfortable. Maybe it's because I don't usually sleep at this time? Arrgh... At this rate I'll be up all night!" I turn over onto my side, falling asleep almost instantly. Out like a log, I lay there for several hours until the Sun begins to rise.

* * *

_**07:03 A.M.**_

_Nng... Sto~p... Stop it... Go away, I wanna sleep! ...Just stop already... _

I open my eyes as I feel something continuously pounding on my side, I look up onto the bed sheets and see Angel stomping his foot on me. It feels really weird, it's irritating as hell but, his foot's actually kinda soft. Sorta like a fluffy cushion.

"O-oh, you're awake... I'm really sorry that Angel woke you, he got frustrated that I didn't wake you and so he did it himself..." A small voice sounded out from the doorway, I looked over and saw the shy Pegasus stood by the door, peeping in timidly.

"Don't worry about it..." I pushed Angel off me, his foot beginning to get rather annoying by this point. "So, why didn't you wake me up? I thought we were getting an early start?" I slowly got out of bed, stretching when my hooves reached the floor.

"Oh, well... I didn't want to wake you because you looked like you were having a really nice dream. So I just kinda stood here, waiting for you to wake up..."

I walked over to her, yawning slightly as I approached. "So how long were you stood there?"

She took a step or two back, still trying to avoid being near me. "O-only around half an hour, not long."

What!? "Half an hour? You should've woken me up, we could've gotten a lot of work done in that time!"

She shrank back again, looking at me. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't realise that it would bother you this much..."

Uh oh, forgot about keeping my mouth closed and thinking first! Come on, make a recovery! "Oh no, no, no. It doesn't bother me at all! I was just... startled, that you were kind enough to wait for me to wake up." I rubbed the back of my neck with my hoof, "Hehe... he..." I really hope that nervous laugh didn't give it away...

"O-oh, was that all?" She lifted her head up a little more, just enough to look me in the eyes from the distance between us. I simply nodded my head, a fake smile plastered onto my face as I put my hoof back onto the ground. "That's a relief, I thought you were angry with me... uh, I mean... sorry..." Her head lowered again, her eyes looking sad. "I didn't mean it like that..."

"Don't worry, I know you didn't." She's unbelievably shy... _Well, I can see that I'm going to need to be a little more straight forward and less socially challenged if these few days aren't to end in disaster._ I walked past her, her backing towards the wall slightly as I did so. "Should we eat before getting to work?"

"W-well, I've already eaten. So you'll have to eat on your own, i-if that's okay with you..."

"Yep, that's fine. I'll see you outside." I continued walking until I reached the bottom of the stairs, and I turned for the kitchen, ready to make some food.

"...Whew... that was kind of scary, wasn't it Angel?" She looked down to her side to see the small rabbit looking at her disappointed, his arms on his waist. "O-oh, you want me to go outside, right? Yes, I should probably get to work. She made her way to the stairs and to the front door with Angel on her back, she stopped in front of the door and Angel hopped off of her. "What is it Angel? Do you want something?" He just looked in the kitchen's direction, staring at it for a few seconds before turning back and hopping onto the Pegasus' back. She smiled and walked outside, preparing to get to work.

* * *

_Back at the library..._

"So, where're you going again Twilight?" Spike lifted a saddlebag onto Twilight's back, her lower body bouncing down slightly as the new weight was added.

"To help the Princess at her castle. She has a very important task that she wants me to help out with, so I should be gone for just under a month." Twilight added book and a few other things into her bag, almost stuffing the items in.

"What? A whole month!? But, what am I going to do whilst you're gone?" Spike lowered his head down onto the base of his neck, his arms by his side and his eyes looking up at Twilight, filled with a small sadness.

"Well the library's going to need to be kept clean and well, so I'll entrust you with that. Other than that, I suppose you could take a break. You've been working extremely hard for a while now, so I think you need it." She smiled and closed her saddlebag, "You can also stay around with one of the other girls too, I'm sure they won't mind hanging out with you for a bit."

_Wait, that means I can spend some quality time with Rarity! Heehee, and Twilight's taking a whole month off! This is going to be great! _"Eh, I suppose I could." Spike shrugged his shoulders, trying his best to try and keep his grin and happy tone concealed.

"Alright then," Twilight headed outside and onto the Pegasi carriage that was waiting for her, she climbed on and waved to Spike from over the carriage's edge. "Bye Spike, I'll be back in a month! Take care!" The carriage lifted off and took Twilight off to Canterlot.

Spike stood and waved, once Twilight was out of view a huge smile burst onto his face. "Now I can go over to the boutique!" He placed a hand over his mouth and yelled back to the library, "Owlowicious!" An owl stuck its head out of the open window and looked at Spike. "Could you watch the library whilst I'm gone? I'll only be two or three weeks!" The owl nodded and Spike ran off, down the road and on his way to Rarity's house.

* * *

_Back at Fluttershy's cottage..._

I placed the bowl I had just used in the sink and walked out of the kitchen, making my way to the door. "Huh. Could've sworn I've heard the brand "Oatibix" somewhere before, might just be my imagination." I shrugged and opened the door, seeing The Yellow One on the other side of the bridge and off to the left, tending to some animals. _(Hey, Corpus.) _"What? Who said that?" I looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. _(I did, up here!) _"Huh?" I looked up, seeing nothing but the sky. "Where!? I can't see you! Just say who you are, you're creeping me out!" _(Oh for the love of... in your head! Do you not recognise your own voice!? The ONLY voice here with the same accent as you!) _"Wait..." _So you can hear me like this? (...No, I can't hear my own thoughts. Idiot...) Wow, you sound rather frustrated. And your sarcasm's a few levels above funny, it's more towards hurtful than anything else. (Well sooorry for being a little bit angry, I expect you'd be the same if you were constantly blanked for a week! Save the odd occasion where the other would actually listen to you.) What do you mean blanked? This is only the third time you've spoken to me. Also, how the hell **can **you speak to me!? You're a brain, you don't speak! (Oh, but magical ponies that can fly, use magic and have a regal overlord that can send messages through space-time to baby dragons can?) ...Well... ('Well' nothing. This place clearly has different laws of physics than we were originally with, I guess each person havin-) Pony, the word is 'Pony'. (... I guess each, PONY, having a sub-conscience which they're able to communicate with would be normal here.) Wait, so you mean I'm not originally from here? (Well that is what you thought, correct?) Well, yeah. But with travel between universes being impossible, I thought that I may have just come from another planet or something. Where the laws of physics would be the same. (Then how do you explain talking to me?) Mental instability? (...Are you really just fine with calling yourself mentally disabled?) Well you asked for an answer. (I was hoping that you'd give one that wouldn't insult the both of us.) Are you sure you're my sub-consciousness? I'll give any answer I can think of. (I'm aware... Anyway, head over to the Pegasus, it'd probably be best for you to start your work.) I know, I know. _I began walking over the bridge, and soon appeared next to the Pegasus. _(I'll be back in a few minutes.) Where are you going? Actually, where can you go? I'm fairly sure brains can't leave the skull, and my head isn't big enough for you to move more than a centimetre around in. (I need to go meet a guy about a thing, I'll be back soon.) *beep beep beep. Your call has been disconnected* ...What call? And whose voice is this?_

The pony turned around and saw me, "O-oh, hey Corpus. H-have you come to help?"

"Hm?" I blinked, only just realising that I was next to her. "Oh, yeah. So what'll we be doing?"

"Well I'm just waking up the animals. I've got to make sure that they don't sleep in and miss breakfast, so I wake them up nice and early to start the day." She smiled and placed her head to a hole in a tree, softly calling out for the squirrel that soon came out rubbing its eyes.

"So you just want me to help get them up?"

"Yes, i-if you don't mind..."

"No problem." I walked over to a small burrow and placed my head near the entrance. "Good morning rabbits! Rise and shine!" I felt a force hit my side and knock me to the side, then seven rabbits shot out of the hole and ran across the field. I looked to the hole's entrance and saw the yellow Pegasus stood there, calling the rabbits over in a calming voice, wait... this means that she pushed me? She can be quite assertive when it comes to animals, I guess?

The rabbits had gathered in front of her and proceeded to hop happily onto the field, she nervously glanced at me as I approached. "I-I'm so sorry about pushing you... but you were scaring the bunnies so I had to stop you..." Her head shrank back again.

"D-don't worry about it." I glanced around briefly before speaking again. "So, how should I wake them up?"

She perked up almost instantly. "Oh, well you just need to be kind and gentle with them. They're very timid creatures, so loud noises will only scare them. Do it like this." She walked over to another rabbit burrow and began speaking. Slowly, a few rabbits peered their heads out of the hole and rubbed their eyes. I had to admit, it was quite cute.

I stood and watched her, how she was almost communicating with the animals in a separate language, then something caught my eye. Raising an eyebrow, I moved myself over to the side a little more, seeing 3 pink butterflies printed onto her... rump. _What the? Ar-...are those tattoos__? I honestly didn't take her to be the type to have those! Does she really love animals that much? _As I pondered more, she turned around and moved to another hole. My eyes widened and my mouth fell open, my nostrils almost flaring. _WHAT!? ON BOTH SIDES!? THIS ISN'T RIGHT, SHE'S FAR TOO TIMID TO HAVE SOMEONE USE NEEDLES TO IMPRINT IMAGES ON HER ARSE! _I took a quick step back, _Should I ask her about it? No, what if she freaks out? That'd probably happen from me just touching her, yet alone me questioning her on something I was staring at on her back side... oh crap... T-that makes me sound like such a pervert! _I look around quickly, making sure no-one was nearby to see me staring. _Thank goodness, there's no-one's here... If anyone found out... I don't even want to think about it! _I closed my eyes, shuddering at the thought of such a thing happening.

A small figure stood a few metres behind me, a shadow cast over its eyes and upper face and an evil smirk appearing on its face. The creature looked up at me, the shadow fading away to reveal a sinister Angel, his mind brewing something awful... much too awful...

* * *

**He~y! **

**This is my longest Chapter yet! Woohoo! :D**

**The mystery reviewer was Frostbiteandsilverwind!**

**Again, my sincere apologies for this Chapter being extremely late. But this comes with the upside of me being fully restored!**

**It's about time for me to kick things into overdrive and catch up again, so I'll be releasing a Chapter a day with the odd double Chapter! :D**

**Anyway, review on the good, the bad and the myeh!**

**Bye bi!**


	11. Chapter 11: The 6th Day: Horse Riding

**Author's Note: **

**Guess who's back? Back again. Alba's back, tell a friend! ...****Sorry, still in a funny mood from yesterday, just had to enter with a bad reference :P**

* * *

**Warning! **

**All those who do not like Adult themed My Little Pony Fanfics:**

**1. Do not read any further, this Chapter contains a crappy attempt at clop. Turn away now and refrain from leaving an invalid negative comment (Just a pre-caution, doubt it'll actually happen :P)**

**2. Why are you on here? It says in the story's description that later Chapters will be rated M, not to mention that the story itself is also rated M. Seriously, how did you miss that?**

* * *

**Another Author's Note:**

**Hello! :D I'm writing this two months (roughly) after I released this chapter to tell you all something quite important: My attempt at a clop scene in  
this chapter is absolutely horrid and in no way reflects the potential for future clop scenes. The later ones are much, _much _better than this sorry attempt, so please don't stop reading because of this one scene (O_O) This face is not meant to be cute, it is to intimidate you into reading more XD**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. These thoughts aren't directed towards anyone but rather just allow us to see the workings of his mind. These aren't part of the story, but are more like a monologue that are only known to us.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These thoughts are the ones which he directly addresses to himself and are part of the actual story, they will affect his actions and the reactions of others within the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Angel's smirk grew more sinister, until he finally moved. Hopping at full speed, he approached me from behind and kicked me... hard.

"Waah!" I flew forwards, jumping out of my skin by whatever the hell it was that just hit me and at what _I _was about to hit, the Pegasus...

I couldn't stop my forward motion and ultimately ended up mounting her, my fore-hooves on her shoulders and my groin against her rump. She screamed loudly, but it didn't stop there. The impact of the force had pushed both of us further forwards, until she tripped and her upper body got stuck in the rabbits' burrow along with my hooves.

"AAAAAAAHHH!" A painfully high-pitched screech escaped her lungs, startling all of the rabbits in the burrow.

"I-I-I'm sorry! I was pushed and then I fell and stood and then you with the slipping and now this! A-and," I tried pulling off of her, only to realise that my trapped hooves were preventing any escape, "I can't mo-oo-oove!" I pathetic whine left my mouth as I finished my sentence.

_(Hey, I'm back. So did I mis- WHAT THE HELL!?) Oh thank God you're back! (What are you **doing!?**) I didn't mean to! Something hit me and knocked me onto her! Now we're stuck! (Who hit you!?) I don't know! Just, help!_

"C-C-Corpus! W-w-what about Twilight? How w-w-will she f-feel!?" The Pegasus' sobbing voice echoed through and out of the burrow, her words scaring me to no extent.

"You can't tell her! T-this is an accident!" _C'mon! Help me! (I'm on it! ...) ...What's taking so long!? Hurry! (...The joystick's stuck...) Joystick? Don't use a joystick, get me out of here! (The joystick's what every consciousness uses to move the body, and your's is stuck.) Why do you sound so calm about it!? We're gonna get killed if we don't escape! (It's kinda hard to be angry when you're this flustered.) What do you mean? At least be scared! (Just... pay attention, to there.) ...What? Where's there? (D...down below.) _

I looked down on myself, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. All of a sudden the mare started writhing around to try and escape, then I noticed... I was erect and rubbing against her. She flinched and cried out. "HELP! SOMEPONY HELP ME!"

I began worrying intensely, trying harder and harder to pull myself away. _Come on! There's gotta be something you can do! If anyone comes across this then we're going to be royally screwed! (I know, I know. But I can't do anything.) Can't you at least put it down? (No, that's controlled by the primal and instinctive area. I don't have any control over it.)_

The sound of multiple pairs of feet pattering about frantically inside the burrow made its way to my ears, then an idea popped into my head. "..." _(What's wrong?) I can't remember her name! (...What? How could you not?) I don't know, it just didn't sink in! It was something like Butterfly or... something! (Why not just say 'you'?) Because that might scare her even more! _Some more high-pitched screams escaped the hole, terrifying me and the rabbits even more. _Don't you have an archive of information or something!? (Yeah but, most of it's missing. I'll take a dig around for stuff stored in the last week.) Thank you! (...) ... (...) ...Done yet? (Got it! Her name is Fluttershy.) Thanks!_

"F-Fluttershy?"

A small whimper sounded out as a response.

"I need you to tell the rabbits to push you as hard as they can! I'll try pulling as they do so!"

With that, another whimper came out. A few undecipherable noises came from the hole and all of a sudden, a geyser of twenty to thirty rabbits exploded from the burrow's entrance, sending me and Fluttershy flying backwards. We landed on the grass with a loud thud.

"Oww..." I sat up, rubbing my back. "Are you oka-"

I was cut off as Fluttershy had run past me, crying loudly with her mane covering her face as she headed back to her cottage.

I sat there silently as she ran into her cottage, tears streaming down her face. _I'm going to go see if she's okay. (Umm, Corpus? I'd recommend waiting a bit first, you're... kinda dirty...) What do you-... oh... _I looked back down at myself, seeing that I was still erect. And a strange fluid was covering it. I felt shame, despair and humiliation all bombard me at the same time, I lay on the grass with my hooves on my head. "Please kill me... right now..." _(Look, you could still make it up to her.) _"How? How can I make up rubbing my phallus on her and pinning her down into a hole!? She probably thinks that I tried to rape her!" _(You could start by waking up the animals and feeding them. If you act kind and sincere then she may begin to forgive you.) _"...Are you sure that'll work?" _(It's the best bet we have.) _"Okay." I stood up, still feeling really depressed. I walked over to several little holes littered around the field area, whether they were in the ground or in trees, and began to quietly wake up all of the little critters living inside.

* * *

_10 minutes later at Celestia's castle..._

"Thank you for coming, Twilight Sparkle." Celestia greeted the purple Unicorn who had walked into her throne room with a smile.

"It's my pleasure Princess. So, will we begin now or...?"

Celestia chuckled slightly, "In due time, Twilight. For now I'll need you to rest, you'll be assisting Luna and Cadence later on tonight. Shining Armour and myself shall be starting in a couple of hours."

Twilight approached her regal mentor, "Are you sure that this won't be a waste? I mean, this is going to take up a lot of magical power, so it's kinda risky if the chances aren't too high."

"Do not fear, my pupil. I am almost certain that this will not be in vain. For you see, there is still the slightest bit of disruption flowing around, so I predict that it will happen again. I'm not sure when it will end, but this will heavily contribute to helping him." Seeing Twilight smile and nod at her response, Celestia rose up and approached a door to the left of the main hall, making a gesture for Twilight to approach. "Come, let us have some food before we continue."

"I'd love to Princess." Twilight followed in suit, departing the room and leaving only the guards.

* * *

_Back at Fluttershy's cottage..._

"Phew..." I sat back, allowing the birds to fly out of the tree and descend onto the field, chirping happily among their kind. "How does she handle this every day so early in the morning?"

_(I've no idea. There's a good few hundred animals here needing waking up and feeding, it's actually quite scary how she can do this and not be tired.) _

"Yeah... so do you know where their food is?"

_(...Why. Would I know that? I've been here just as long as you have, heard all the same things you have. If the food's location were mentioned then surely you'd know as well.) _

"Well, it's just in case I forgot again. I do have amnesia, after all."

_(I don't think your amnesia's a normal case though. Every last detail about you and your life is completely missing from my data banks, save only language and some general knowledge and understandings. Nothing around you seems to set off any de-ja-vu either, not to mention that we should be a completely different race from everyone else here altogether.)_

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." I began to walk to the bridge, washing myself off in the river before getting out and promptly crossing it and standing in front of the door with my hoof raised, ready to knock. I let out a sigh, "I really hope she's not angry or scared still..."

Knocking on the door, I found that it wasn't properly closed. The door slowly creeped open, I peeped my head in and saw Fluttershy laying on a couch at the far end of the room, her face wet with tears as she glanced at me. She immediately hid her face from me. My face fell into a saddened contortion of its previous self, _Guessing she doesn't forgive me. This is going to make things so much worse than they would have been originally..._

_ (Yeah... maybe she'll still tell you where the food is?) I'll try..._

I approached her until I was a few steps away, I then noticed that she was shivering... most likely in fear. "U-uhm... Fluttershy?" I kept my voice quiet, trying to comfort her a little.

She moved her head slightly so that she could see me through a gap in her mane.

"I...I'm really sorry about earlier... Somehow I slipped and... things got a little out of control..." I looked away, I can't really look at her whilst saying this.

I heard a small sniffle come from her direction, I turned my head to her again. Still looking sorrowfully at her. "..."

"C-could you tell me where the food is please? The animals need to be fed..."

She slowly moved her head until she could clearly see me, a squeaky and jolty voice left her mane. "T-there isn't any... I w-was going to buy some m-more from the pet shop in town... The list... i-is on the side..." She indicated to the small table with her nose.

I looked over to it and saw the paper on the table, I looked back to her and nodded weakly. "Thank you... Also, a-are you alright?"

She shrank back slightly. "I... I don't really feel like doing much today... so, could you take care of the animals for me?"

_She's still scared, isn't she?_

_ (At least she trusts you with the animals, so she may not completely blame you. She might be feeling a little better after you return from Ponyville.) _

_Yeah, I hope so. _"Of course. Could you write me a list on what to do for when I get back?"

She simply nodded her head, her face still hidden behind her mane. I moved to the table and picked up the list, I then made my way for the door before hearing her call out. "Y-you forgot your cloak.."

I turned and saw her, still cowering on the pink furnishing. I walked over to the chair next to the table that had my garb on it and put it on. "Thank you... for reminding me." I turned to the door again and headed outside, on my way to Ponyville.

* * *

Fluttershy still lay there on her couch, her head buried in her hooves. Angel hopped over to her and jumped next to her, tapping her side with his paw.

Fluttershy looked up at him and spoke softly, "Oh," she sniffled, "Hello Angel."

He looked at her concerned, placing a paw on her cheek.

"Don't worry," She wiped a tear from her cheek, "I'm okay."

Angel proceeded to make several gestures and actions, none of which could be deciphered into any logical form of communication.

"Oh, he didn't mean it Angel. I'm just a little shocked by it all still." ...Yet she somehow manages to understand... Just...how...?

He pouted and pointed towards the door, followed by him thrusting his hips.

"Oh no, he said it was an accident. After all, he didn't really do anything. And he helped get us out of that situation earlier. Not to mention that he went through the trouble of waking up all of the other animals for me, and now he's gone to buy them some food."

Angel facepawed and hopped off angrily, his attempt at getting Corpus into trouble ending in vain.

Fluttershy brought herself up quickly, the last of her tears flying off her face. "I forgot, he doesn't have any money on him." She quickly got off the couch and up the stairs and into her room. There she put some bits into a saddlebag and placed it on herself. She then departed her room and descended the stairs, ending up in the main living room and galloping to the door. "I need to get him this money quickly." She opened the door and left, only to re-open a second later to thank Angel. Whom she couldn't see. "Angel? Where are you Angel?" Fluttershy walked back in and looked around for the rabbit, soon finding him in his bed. She nuzzled her nose against him, "Thank you for reminding me Angel." She then got back up and left again, galloping over the bridge and towards Ponyville.

* * *

"Let's see... one 1Kg bag of mouse food, two 2Kg bags of bird feed, and 7Kg of mixed vegetables." I read out the shopping list aloud as I walked through a pet shop in Ponyville.

_(Wow, how does she carry all of that? That's a minimum of 12 Kg!) _

"I know, does she put it all on her back? I doubt there are any saddlebags that big.

_(I don't know. I'm just glad you have a horn.) _

"Why're you glad? You're a brain, you're not doing the carrying."

_(But the fatigue of the carrying will affect me as well. Oh, look out. Starers at 10 O'clock) _

"What?" I look to the left slightly, seeing some mares looking at me and whispering amongst themselves.

_(Try using your inside voice when talking to me, people'll think you're weird otherwise.)_

_ Well I'm talking to my brain, I honestly can't get much weirder than that. _

_(Hey! I said that may be to do with the laws of physics here!) _

_Then why were they looking at me as if I were insane?_

_ (...The possibility still stands) _

_Mm-hm... _

_(Hey! Don't you 'Mm-hm' me-)_

"Hello." I approach the pony behind the counter, he was a yellow stallion with a very, very bushy white moustache.

_(Don't ignore me!)_

"Afternoon. How may I help you?" The yellow stallion replied.

"I was just wondering where I could get these items." I handed over the list of things to the clerk, he looked over it and gave it back to me.

"Strange, that's usually the same order a yellow Pegasus named Fluttershy comes here with. It's usually today too."

"Oh, that's because I've come in her place. I'm helping her take care of the animals, you see."

"That makes sense." He lowered his head behind the counter and brought up the bags. "This'll cost ya 13 bits."

Yet another hammer struck me down. For the second time in two days I've waltzed into a place ready to buy something, whilst not having a single piece of currency on me. "U-umm... I uh... kinda forgot to bring any money..." I gave him a sheepish smile as I lowered my head slightly.

His face fell unamused and he pulled the bags from the counter, "So you were planning not to pay? You trying to cheat me outta my money?" His voice was becoming rough as he spoke, becoming more intimidating as he did so.

"Ah n-no, I just forgot that I had no money on me, that's all." I began shrinking back from his looming presence.

"Get out! We don't want any cheapskates here!" He pointed his hoof to the door, a small gust coming from the hoof's momentous path.

I sadly turned, about to depart when the door opened and Fluttershy burst in... she then lost her brave entrance and returned to the shy Pony we all know. "P-please don't be mean to him. I-I sent him here and forgot to give him money."

The shopkeeper and I turned to her, me looking surprised and him smiling, "Oh, is that all? Well you shoulda said something. Here ya go." He placed the bags on the floor in front of her, followed by her paying him the due money. "Would you like me to call an assistant to carry these back to your house?"

_I... didn't expect her to forgive me this quickly... _

_(Ditto.)_

"No, I'll take them." I levitated the bags with my horn, an orange light surrounding them. The shopkeeper then glared daggers at me, striking into my soul itself.

"Oh, thank you Corpus. Now let's go back, the animals need feeding, oh... if, that's okay with you... that is." Her almost normal way of speaking was cut short as she, again, returned to being shy.

"Yeah, although it'll be quicker doing this." Without warning, my horn started to glow and I teleported myself, Fluttershy and the food back to her cottage.

Fluttershy fell onto her flank from the surprise of it and shakily stood back up, "T-t-thank you... Corpus."

_Whoops, might've scared her there..._

_ (Give a warning next time, if you scare her too much then the situation that we fear so much may come around.)_

_ R-really!? I've got to really start watching my actions! _

I gave her a shaky smile, "D-don't worry. I'm j-just glad to help. Now," I put the bags down, bringing the one filled with bird feed over. "When should we start feeding them?"

She brought her head up, smiling softly. "We can start now. I'll show you how much each creature needs to be fed..."

Fluttershy went on to teach me about feeding the animals. She showed me which animal eats what, proportion in the animal's size to the amount it needs, how the age of certain animals changes their dietary needs and the times in which to feed them. Long story short... almost none of it sank in... Eventually, after hours of re-teaching, it reached night time and both of us went off to sleep, to prepare for tomorrow's work.

* * *

_**11:48 P.M. **Celestia's Castle..._**  
**

"So you really think it'll work?" Cadence asked Twilight as they neared the balcony of the castle.

Twilight turned her head to her, looking slightly puzzled herself. "I'm not too sure, but it's best to have faith in the Princess. After all, she's never ever been wrong before."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. But it still surprised me, what Princess Celestia has asked us to do."

"Me too." Twilight turned her head back, facing forwards again. "But it's all in good cause."

They turned around the balcony's doorway to see Celestia and Shining Armour, with Shining looking very fatigued and mentally tired. "Oh, hey Twilley..." Shining gave ger a weak smile.

Cadence hurried to him, "Shining Armour! Are you okay? You look horrible!"

"Yeah... I'm fine. Just a little tired is all." He then closed an eye and held his head in a hoof.

"Armour." Cadence lowered her horn to his head, soothing his pain with her magic.

He brought his head back up and smiled, "Thanks dear, it really helps."

She simply smiled back, nuzzling her face into the side of his mane.

"Sister, I believe it's our turn now. Take a rest, you're going to need it to rise the Sun in the morning" Luna appeared round the corner, approaching the others.

"Yes, I suppose I will." Celestia smiled at her sister and her horn stopped glowing. "Then I'll allow you three to take over." She walked past Twilight and stumbled a little.

"Princess!" Twilight turned to help her back up, only for Celestia to bring herself back up.

"Don't worry my faithful student, I'm only a little tired." She plastered a smile onto her face and proceeded to the balcony's exit. "I'm going to take a little rest, I'll be back in a few hours to raise the Sun."

The others nodded, bearing their good nights to her.

"Then I'll be heading off too." Shining Armour also walked towards the doorway, but not before kissing his wife goodnight first. "See ya in a few hours." He proceeded through the doorway and around the corner.

"We should get started, we don't want to waste the effort we've been given." Luna declared, receiving the same determination back from the other two.

_I never knew it'd be this hard. Not only my BBBFF, but it's taking a toll on the Princess too. I hope we can hold out..._

The three mares' horns began glowing, and a very, very faint bubble could be seen covering a huge mass of land.

_...Keeping this field over the whole of Equestria._

* * *

**Du du~n!**

**I know, slightly misleading title and an awful attempt at anything M rated, but more adult stuff will come later on... sometime...**

**Anyway, what did you think of it? Review on the good, the bad and the myeh!**

**Until next Chapter,**

**Bye bi!**


	12. Chapter 12: The 7th Morning: Murderer!

**Author's note: Ah~ Nothing like a hot bath to start the afternoon... :3**

**Bathing aside, it feels great to be back to daily uploading! And it makes me so happy knowing that you guys are still reading this :D Seriously, those 5 days felt like weeks... And this Chapter's only out a wee bit late because my internet bucked up and wouldn't allow me to publish it :/**

**Anywho, onto the Chapter!**

* * *

**Reminder: **

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. These thoughts aren't directed towards anyone but rather just allow us to see the workings of his mind. These aren't part of the story, but are more like a monologue that are only known to us.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These thoughts are the ones which he directly addresses to himself and are part of the actual story, they will affect his actions and the reactions of others within the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**_06:42 A.M..._**

Celestia approached the balcony yet again, looking more refreshed than she did a few hours ago.

"So how's everypony doing?" She glanced around from her sister to Cadence and Twilight.

Luna obviously looked pretty tired, her posture was slightly sloppy and her voice didn't have the same Royal vigor it usually has. "We're doing fine, as of yet. Nopony's entered or left the field, so all's clear for now."

"That's good to know." She redirected her attention to her pupil. "So how are you doing, Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight forced on a shaky smile to address the Princess, "Fairly well. As Princess Luna said, there have been no alerts yet."

Celestia nodded and headed to the edge of the balcony, her horn glowing magnificently and the Sun rising upwards, seemingly coated by the same golden aura. She turned to face her subjects, smiling as she addressed them. "I want you all to take a half hour break, you deserve it." She took a few steps toward them, her horn beginning to take on it's magical light.

"But," Cadence started, "If we stop now, then what'll we do if something happens during the half hour? We can't afford to waste time."

"Don't worry about that, Cadence. I'll be taking temporary charge until you've all rested."

"But you should be resting yourself, Princess. Not to mention that you've just brought the Sun up." Twilight intervened.

"I second Twilight Sparkle's objection. It's too risky for you to take over, especially without the assistance of somepony else!" Luna pitched in, trying to sway Celestia out of it.

"Do not fear for me, I have been bringing out the Sun and Moon for a thousand years without rest, a little extra time on a spell won't bring any adverse effects upon me."

"But, Princess-"

"Rest, Twilight Sparkle. You will have to continue for another five hours afterwards, so it would be best to make the most of it."

Twilight, Luna and Cadence all gave in their efforts, too tired to drag it out any longer. With that, Celestia took over maintaining the spell whilst the other three regained their strength.

* * *

**_06:54 A.M..._**

_(Hey! Get off! Go on, get! If I had hands to grab you with you little rodent then I'd strangle you to death!) _

_Uggh... _I slowly opened my eyes, still very much asleep. _What's all the noise about so early in the morning? I'm tired... _

_(That little rodent's been jumping on you for the last five minutes and it's pissing me off! Wait... don't you do that at me you little d-)_

_ Shh! You're loud... _I looked over at myself and saw Angel jumping up and down on my side, and yet again his annoying little paws are almost too soft to feel.

"A-angel, please stop. I think he's awake now..." An all too familiar voice came from the doorway. Actually, it'd be pretty worrying if it wasn't her voice. Y'know, with her being the only other pony in the general area.

I sat up fully, pushing Angel away again,

_(I. Hate. You.)_

"Don't worry, I'm up." I stretched outwards and heard a small popping sound from my back. I climbed out of bed still half-asleep and headed towards the door, "I have to be up early to help tend to the animals." I yawned as I reached the door.

"O-oh don't worry about-..." Fluttershy tried to finish her sentence, but it fell on deaf ears as Corpus walked past, still in a sleepy state.

_(I think she was trying to tell you something.)_

_ Hm? Was she? _I stopped in front of the stairs and began to turn around. "What was that Fluttersh-AAAAAAIIIIII!" I got knocked forwards, sending me down the flight of wooden stairs in front of me, bumping my head and various other parts of my body on the wooden platforms that seemed to go on forever. After a few more seconds I reached the bottom, my body aching all over from the multiple bumps I suffered during my descent. "Oww..."

_(That's gonna hurt for a while...)_

_ Not funny... _

_(I'm not joking, that's gonna stick with you for another few hours.)_

_ ...Why do you have such differing personalities? Surely each person or pony has a set personality. _

_(I'm a brain, a sub-consciousness. I'm the central control area for all emotions and personalities, so it's only natural that mine would be varying continuously. And it's for a comedy factor.)_

_ ...What? What comedy factor?_

"Ahh! Corpus! A-are you okay?" The yellow Pegasus called down from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah, just a little pain." I stood myself up, my sides hurting a little more than the rest of my body.

She flew down the stairs and landed next to me. "You aren't cut or bruised anywhere, are you?"

_This'll probably end up bruising pretty badly, can't tell her that though._

_ (Mm, she'll probably end up feeling really guilty for accidentally knocking you down.)_

"Nope, I'm completely fine." I stood up more upright and held a tone of false confidence in my voice.

"Oh thank goodness, I'm really, really sorry for knocking you down the stairs! It was an accident, I wasn't watching where I was going..." She lowered her head as she finished her sentence, guilt obviously taking over her.

_What should I do? How do I comfort her?_

_ (Umm... I don't know. Try placing your hoof on her and telling her it's not her fault. I vaguely remember that working sometime in the past...)_

_ Okay, I'll try it. _I placed my hoof on her shoulder and spoke softly, with a calming smile on my face.

"Don't worry, you didn't mean to. At least you apologised." I brought my hoof back to myself and she looked up, "If you truly meant it then you wouldn't be acting kind to me, would you? So because you're so sincere, I'd easily forgive you every time." I smile at her brightly. _Huh, that was easier than I thought. _

_(Mm... but somehow that didn't feel like the right way to speak. Almost as if it were also implying something else...) _

_Well, that's how friend's act, don't they?_

_ (I think so, or as much as my archives recall anyway.)_

"D-do you really mean t-that?" She sniffled a little, still looking up at me.

"Of course. We're friends aren't we?"

Her unhappy face slowly wobbled and bent into a smile, a tear forming in her eye. "T-thank you... Not many ponies are that kind..."

That comment made me feel happy, I couldn't even control the smile that had fixed itself on my face at this point. "So shall we wake up the animals?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you earlier, today's Saturday so we don't need to wake them up until later."

"O-oh... then, why did Angel wake me up?" My eyebrow raised instinctively, kinda weird how that happened actually.

"I'm not sure, but I'm sure that he had good intentions." She let out an innocent smile.

_(Hey! He's flipping us off! Let me at him! Let me at him! I'll tear his fucking throat open!)_

_ Woah, calm down! Sounds like shouting in here, remember? _

_(I don't care! I wanna rip him to shreds!)_

_ With what? Your hooves and herbivore teeth? _

_(Anything! Uh... you... little piece of crap! How dare you!?)_

_ What the hell did I do!?_

_ (Not you, him! The rabbit! He... THAT TEARS IT!)_

"Stop the bloody shouting!"

Fluttershy shrank back and let out a small 'eep'. Beginning to cower a little.

"Ah... no, no, no! I didn't mean you, I was... uh... d-daydreaming! And there was somepony who wouldn't stop shouting and I couldn't even hear myself think." _Ahh, getting bad at lying again... _

_(And pop goes 'A' button)_

All of a sudden my left hind leg bucks against my command and hits Angel, forcing a squeak out of him and knocking him onto the floor a few feet away. "What the hell?" I brought my hind leg back into place and looked behind me, seeing Angel laying on the floor. _What the hell did you do that for? _

_(Sorry, but he was REALLY starting to rub me the wrong way.) _

_Whatever, just don't use my body as a fighting machine. It's my body, not your's._

Fluttershy ran to Angel, picking him up in her hooves as she hovered above the ground, cradling him like a child. "Oh Angel, what happened?"

_See what you did? You've made her upset again. _

_(I said sorry. And he was asking for every last bit of that buck.)_

Angel just lay there, knocked unconscious by the kick.

"S-so, what are we going to do for today? If we don't need to wake up or feed any of the animals yet, then what's needed of us?"

Fluttershy set Angel down in his bed and pulled a small sheet up to his shoulders. "Well, I'm going to stay home to take care of Angel. I don't know what's wrong with him, so I'm pretty worried."

_You know he's gonna tell her what happened once he wakes up, don't you? _

_(Yeah... we've got to get her out of the house long enough so that he doesn't tell her. Actually, if we come back in a few hours time, she may be too worried for his welfare or too happy to see him up and about to listen to whatever he wants to tell her! Meaning that we might get away with it yet!) _

_...We?_

_ (Well it was **your **foot that bucked him.)_

_ Yeah, at **your **command!_

_ (Look, are we going to get into an argument about this or are we going to try and not get on Fluttershy's bad side?) _

_We're... well-... aggh! Fine, we'll get her out. But don't think I'll forget this argument, I will bring you down in this eventually!_

_ (Unless I delete the data holding the argument...)_

_ C-can you do that?_

_ (I dunno, probably. I do own the archives after all. Now hurry up and get us away from Mr. Flufflesworth here before he wakes up.) _

_Okay, no need to tell me more than once._

I walked up to the Pegasus watching over the rabbit. "Hey, Fluttershy?"

She turned to look at me, "Y,-yes?"

"Would it be an idea to go into town? There are some places I still haven't visited yet such as the Market Square, so I was hoping that we could go today. We could also buy Angel a gift whilst we're out too, I'm sure that it'll make him happy to wake up with a present."

Her eyes lit up a bit, and a smile worked its way onto her face again. She nodded her head, "Oh, that sounds like a wonderful idea. But..." She looked back at him.

"Don't worry, he'll be alright. Not to mention that he has hundreds of animal friends to play with, they should all be waking up at around the same time too."

"Yeah, I-I guess you're right." She turned around and walked past me a little. "I'm just going to get some money."

"Okay, I'll wait here." She turned fully and headed up the stairs.

_(Aren't you going to get your cloak?) _

_Hehe, of course. But watch this, I specially prepared for this yesterday night. Ready?_

_ (Go on.)_

_ 3, 2, 1 and... poof!_ My cloak materialised on me with an orange flash.

_(Corpus learnt a new move) _

_Where's that from? I remember hearing it somewhere before... _

_(Don't know, it just kinda came out.)_

Hooves began treading against wooden stairs as Fluttershy made her way back to the main living area, wearing a saddlebag and placing a small purse of bits into it.

"So are you ready to leave?" I opened the door with my horn.

"Yes, and the weather today is wonderful. It should be a really nice day for a walk." She left through the door first, me following immediately afterwards and closing the door.

* * *

_20 minutes later in Ponyville..._

We continued to wander around the market square a bit more until we stopped in front of a stand. Fluttershy began looking through the wares leaving me to look around, then I noticed a pony who looked just as strange as myself. He was wearing a yellowish beige jacket with a white shirt collar underneath which partially concealed a red tie. His coat was a very, _very_ light brown and he had a chocolate brown mane and tail. Taking a closer look, his eyes were slanted slightly and looked almost pure evil, like brown, bottomless pits. He also had a saddlebag on which had an odd shaped object in it.

_Yikes. He looks pretty evil, doesn't he?_

_ (Yeah, wouldn't want to get on his bad side. Oh look! He has a tattoo on his rear too!)_

_ Really? _I took a closer look and saw what seemed to be a black notebook of some sort with a pen next to it. _Huh, so he does. Why do you think he wanted that tattooed on himself? He doesn't look like the type to take notes everywhere._

_ (No idea. We'll only ever know if we ask.)_

_ There's no way I'm going near that creep, not at all!_

_ (Which is why I suggest we just avoid him entirely.) _He took a glance in our general direction, his sharp eyes scanning the area around us._ (Ahhh! He's looking this way! Quick! Don't make eye contact!)_

_ G-got it! _I quickly turned my head and looked in the same direction as Fluttershy, pretending to be interested in the... rather... girly dressing gowns on the lines...

_(...Okay, he's looking away.) _

_Wait, how can you tell? _

_(Using my mind's eye.) _

_Isn't that a figure of speech? _

_(Apparently not. I can see him moving.)_

_ Huh, the brain really is a weird thing. _

_(Hey, should we follow him?) _

_What? No! What if he sees us? _

_(Well you could look around at the market stalls whilst I keep an eye on him and watch what he does.)_

_ Mmm... sounds kinda risky. Buuut... I really wanna know what he's here for._

_ (Sooo?)_

_ ...Let's do it!_

_ (That's what I want to hear! Onward!)_

"I'm just gonna go over here to check out those stalls. I'll be back in a few minutes."

The Pegasus looked at me and smiled, "Oh, okay. I'll still be around here. If you need any money, just ask me."

I nodded and turned around to follow the strange pony from before.

_Okay, so what should I look at? _

_(Shh, I'm observing him. Just look anywhere.) _

_Okay. _I started to look at the various stalls lining the streets, they were selling everything from saddlebags to hats to... I'm... not too sure I want to say that one...

_(Hmm...) _

_Found anything out yet?_

_ (...Nope. He just keeps walking. Get a little closer, I think that he has something in his saddlebag.)_

_ Sure. _I picked up my pace a little until I was a few metres behind him, being sure not to let him see me. _Better? _

_(Yep, it... looks like a notebook.) _

_Wait, so he really does take notes everywhere?_

_ (I don't know, it may be worth watching him a little longer.) _I kept looking around, slowly getting bored of this stalk. Suddenly I bumped into someone and they fell backwards, I looked forwards to see a grey Pegasus.

"Ah, I'm really sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." I offered a hoof to her.

"Don't worry, I was doing the same." She chuckled and lifted herself up with my hoof. "Well, I'd better be off." She turned around, still looking at me as she began walking, "I've got to go and-ngh!" She fell over after bumping into a pony carrying loads of pots. He began to lose balance and eventually toppled over, dropping the pots towards the strange pony. Said pony turned around and got hit by a pot, he wobbled around and another got stuck on his head, causing him to wander blindly and crash into a vending stall. He ended up knocking a plank on the stall and sending various objects flying into the street and onto other ponies. They started to run in attempt to dodge the bombardment of objects and resulted in bashing into other ponies and stalls, until a miniature state of anarchy was achieved in the market place. Several stands inexplicably combusting and causing more trouble.

I stood there, watching it all unfold. _...What...the...hell...? How did that even happen!? Who was that!? _

_(I don't know, I can't see her anywhere. She must've left during the start of it.)_

_ She's dangerous... being able to set all this off without eve-_

_ (Look! Over there!) _

_Y'know, you could let me finish my sentence before chipping in._

_ (Yeah, yeah whatever. Look! By the vegetable stand!)_

_ What? _I looked over at the vegetable stand and saw a small black notebook laying on the ground next to some burning debris.

_(It's his notebook! Quick! Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up!)_

_Calm down a little. It's just a notebook. _I approached the tome and levitated it up with my magic, opening it up I see nothing but a huge list of names spanning across the pages.

_(Hmm... I wonder what these names signify...)_

_ I don't know, I guess we'd find out if we asked him, but- _

_(Not happening.) _

_No way in hell._

"W-what happened? Corpus, a-are you alright?" Fluttershy came onto the scene, seeing the complete devastation of the former market-place.

"Yeah, I'm fine." _Somehow..._

She walked up to me, "Oh thank goodness, I heard screaming and loud noises come from over here, and I thought that you might have gotten hurt."

I walked out from between the destroyed stands, the notebook still floating by my head. "Don't worry, none of it touched me. By some miracle..." I took a moment to take it all in, the complete chaos wrecked in this little area... all because I bumped into someone. And now I feel guilty...

"U-um, is that your notebook? I didn't see you with it before..."

I look to the black book floating to my side, then back to Fluttershy. "Y-yeah, I lost it around here the other day when I went exploring around town. So I was pretty lucky to find it again!"

"I'll say... quite a lot of lost things don't turn up so quickly, guess you must be really, really lucky." A smile seemed to naturally form on her face.

I plank of wood crackled to my left, startling me slightly and causing me to jump to my right. My shoulder making contact with the open book as I did so. Then, all of a sudden, dozens upon dozens upon dozens of memories started flowing into my head. My every last thought, for what felt like hours, was filled completely with these memories. _"Killer", "Death Gods", "Murder", **"God of the New World"...**_

After hours of re-living, my thoughts returned to me, but not a single second had moved in the world outside of my head. After standing in awe for a few seconds, something finally clicked in my head. Something I wish had remained a secret from me forever.

_T-these names... in this book... a-...are the names of... **Everyone I've killed...**_

* * *

**So how'd you like the new Chapter?**

**I made some very heavy referencing in this one, so the first one to guess what the two references were earns a metaphorical cookie! :D**

**I really wanted to make this Chapter longer but then I'd run into time difficulties and it would be a good 7K long Chapter. That's a good thing but I don't want to over-exert myself and end up a sleepy blob again XD**

**Anyway, review on the good, the bad and the myeh!**

**Bye bi!**


	13. Chapter 13: The 7th Day: Haunting Memory

**Author's note: **

**Cookies have been distributed! And not of the internet variety. But do not fear, my stock is limitless! :D**

**And don't worry, even though some insanely heavy referencing is going on, no spoilers above a minor level will be released for any show that I reference. Youtube comments, however, have so many spoilers. Ruined Death Note for me a year before I started it...**

**In addition, Fluttershy's lack of any general activity has allowed me to implement the plot early :D Hooray for vague lifestyles!**

**I'm really starting to get excited for where this is heading now, and I'm hoping you all will too in a few Chapter's time :)**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Everything... has come back to me now... My life... my troubles... my sins... The only pieces I'm spared are those that my amnesia prevented me from remembering...

It all started with me finding this notebook, the 'Death Note'... It reads that anyone who's name is written in this note, shall die. At first I took it as a joke, thought that it was some idiot trying to be funny by scaring people. I've never been more wrong. I tried it out on a criminal, someone who no-one would care for if they were to die. All I had to do was imagine his face whilst writing his name, and he would die from a heart attack 40 seconds later if I didn't specify a form or time of dying. I sat back, looking at my TV as I awaited the 40 seconds to be over, so I could prove that it was false. Then he died. 40 seconds on the dot. The cause of death? A heart attack. Even though I can't recall the names of those I killed, this book is filled with them. And I possess the memory of killing hundreds upon hundreds, as well as the rules of which the Death Note has to follow. There's also the fact that my memories returned when I made contact with the Death Note. I must have surrendered ownership of it at some point, losing all memories associated with it... And I can see why now...

_I want to die... I want to forget all of this, all of this murder and disgrace! _

_(...Some of the files in my archives have returned, I've just confirmed that they're our memories...)_

"A-...are you okay? You're not speaking..." Fluttershy's eyes grew increasingly concerned as she moved her head down to look into my eyes, facing the floor as my head had dropped down from the return of my memories.

"...Yeah, I'm fine." I kept my gaze uncertainly fixed on the floor.

_(So you're not going to tell her?)_

_ No. The less that know, the better. I don't want this information getting out to anyone, they'll all reject me and hunt me down if they knew. _I brought my head up and forced on a strained smile, trying to mask up my real emotions. "Shall we continue looking around?" I placed the Death Note under my cloak to ensure no-one else would see it.

"Okay, if you're fine with it, that is."

I kept my false smile as I nodded, and so we moved away from the destroyed part of the market and into the area where ponies were constantly moving either up or down the streets. I kept my horn slightly aglow, making sure to keep a small amount of magic on the note to prevent it from falling off.

_...Say. Would it be possible to destroy the archives associated with the Death Note? _

_(I don't think so. We've probably tried that beforehand. The high possibility of us wanting to have forgotten these memories long before is evidence enough.)_

_ Yeah... but, I'm confused._

_ (What about?) _

_How did it get here? Looking though my memories, I was definitely a human surrounded by millions of other humans in a Solar System which didn't hold talking Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasi or Alicorns. So how did it end up here, the very same Death Note which I held God knows how long ago? _

_(I don't know. But our archives can't be wrong, I've checked over and over. We were definitely not from wherever this is. Whether it's another planet or Universe altogether, and this Death Note shouldn't exist here at all.)_

My eyes suddenly opened wider, _...Unless... Hey, look around. Do you see a Death God? _

_(Hmm... No. There's only Ponies surrounding us, no sign of anything resembling him at all.) _

_Drat! Just when we need him the most!_

Fluttershy stopped. She looked at me timidly but spoke with a somewhat stern voice. "Please tell me what's wrong. And please don't tell me that it's nothing, your face is really sad and angry."

I just stared at her, forcing another fake smile. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just a little deep in thought."

Her look turned from timid to slightly stern, "Thinking about what?"

"Nothing really."

"Stop lying!" Her outburst caught me off guard, as did it to everyone else around us.

I turned my head to the side, looking at the ground in anger. _Lies... pain... sadness. I take these damn things with me wherever I go!_

Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes as she looked at me, almost in pain. "Why won't you let me help you? We're friends, we're supposed to comfort each other when the other is upset." I had hit a nerve, it seems that she values her friends above absolutely anything else. Such a kind Pony doesn't deserve to be cursed with walking around with me.

"...You don't want to know." I kept my gaze on the floor, still feeling anger boiling through me.

"Then why not!?" She snapped back, clearly pained by my secrecy.

I couldn't hold it in any longer, my anger was blowing like a turbulent storm inside of me. I turned back to her, my brows lowered in anger and my voice boomed across the street. "Because it doesn't concern you in the slightest! It's my problem and my problem alone!"

Her eyes widened in fear, she took a few steps back and lowered her body to the ground, tears beginning to run down her face. Her mouth contorted and shook, before she turned and ran away crying.

Everyone around me stood in shock, whispering amongst themselves at the scene they had just witnessed. One Pony approached me from behind. "H-hey. You didn't have to shout at her like that." He placed a hoof on my shoulder.

My eyes shot at him instantly, filled with anger. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" He jolted back, falling onto his haunches before shuffling backwards quickly.

Everypony around me began glaring daggers at me, still talking among themselves. I began walking forwards, towards a small gap in the crowd before a lilac mare with a pink and red mane moved onto my path. "And what's wrong with you? You don't shout at somepony who's trying to help!"

"...Move...now..."

She moved in closer, an angry look in her eyes. "What gives you the right to order others around and make innocent ponies cry!?" The other ponies around her began to agree in a rally.

That was it, my rage wouldn't stay bottled up much longer. "I SAID MOVE!" My horn began glowing as I aimed it at her, my eyes piercing into her.

She instantly lost her courage, and slowly stepped down. The others also ceasing their chatter and falling silent, the ones in front of me stepping aside to let me through.

I continued to walk past them, making my way to a place where I knew I could calm my nerves and think. The field which me and Twilight trained in.

* * *

_**08:40 A.M**, back at Fluttershy's cottage..._

Angel slowly opened his eyes, placing a paw on his pulsing head as he sat up. He took a look around the room and noticed a noise coming from outside. He climbed out of his bed and made his way to an open window just above it, via the small wooden staircases ascending the walls of the lower level. He hopped out through the window and landed on the meadow outside. He followed the noise and turned around the corner of the cottage, seeing Fluttershy laying down by a tree, crying. He and a few other wild animals in the area approached her and sat next to her, trying to comfort her. Angel walked up to her foreleg and tapped on it lightly.

Fluttershy brought her head above her hooves, looking at Angel before wiping a tear from her eye. "H-hello Angel... I'm glad to see you're feeling better..." Her voice sounded raspy from all the crying.

His expression fell into concern as he placed a paw on her leg. The other animals coming in closer, also sharing their concern.

She sniffled and wiped her other eye, "T-thank you everyone. I'm sorry if I'm worrying you, but I'm okay."

Angel didn't buy what she was saying and continued to give her comfort, letting her know that he and all of the other animals were there for her. The small birds flew onto her legs and moved up to her head, nestling themselves up against her; the chipmunks ran up and onto her back, bringing their paws and claws through her mane and tail; and the other small rodents simply lined up along her body and drifted off into a light sleep. Completely surrounded by the furry creatures that she loves so much, Fluttershy's nerves began to settle and her tears slowly came to a stop. Angel, yet again, looked at her with almost pleading eyes, wanting to know what was wrong.

Fluttershy took notice of what Angel was silently asking, and she turned him down again. "I'm really sorry Angel, but I just don't feel like talking about it right now." She placed a hoof onto Angel's face lightly, but he continued his concerned look. Fluttershy felt a small pain in her chest, she hated keeping it to herself but, she didn't want to tell any of them. She didn't want to worry them with what she was going through. "It's nothing, Angel. Please don't worry about... it..." Her sentence dragged on slightly, she finally realised something... and it made her feel guilty.

Earlier, when she was interrogating Corpus, she had done the exact same thing that Angel had just now, and Corpus probably felt the same as she did just now...

Her heart felt like it had put on weight as it sank through her chest, making her feel as though she had made a terrible mistake. "I-I've got to be going." She slowly stood, making sure not to harm any of the critters gathered around her, "I'll be back soon. And, thank you all. I'm really, really grateful for your help." She got up fully and galloped off back into Ponyville, to search for Corpus.

* * *

_At the field South of Ponyville..._

_...Why only this?_

_(Do you mean the memories?)_

_Yeah, why did I only remember murdering? I don't even remember my name, or any names at all! All I can recall is using this accursed book for killing hundreds of people! And having fun! How the fuck is killing people fun!? _I placed a hoof to my head, feeling frustrated at my extreme lack of knowledge and previously twisted demeanor.

_(Look, we've changed. That's no longer us, it's in the past.)_

_Who cares if it's in the past!? The fact remains that I've ended the lives of hundreds of people! Even if they were criminals and deserved to die, I would never want to take a life! But I have... so, so many lives, which I can never give back._

"So this is where ya are."

I turned my head to see an orange Stetson-wearing Pony to my left. My eyes still cold and merciless.

"Ah heard that there was a brown Unicorn in Ponyville's mahket district who started shoutin' an' sendin' Ponies away cryin'. Was told that ya came down in this dahrection, so Ah decided ta follow."

I didn't lift my gaze from her, wanting her to piss off and leave me to my thoughts. "And why'd you do that? This doesn't concern you in the slightest! So why don't you just leave me alone and let me handle it my way!?"

"Because what happened in Ponyville doesn't sound like the type of Pony Ah took ya to be. So something must be up to make ya act the way ya did."

"Yeah? Well I didn't turn out to be how anyone would expect me to be! And what goes on in my life is of no concern to you or anybody else! So would you kindly just PISS OFF ALREADY!?" More and more anger began to build up inside of me, the longer I was forced to dwell on how I acted the more aggravated I got.

"Because ya can't handle it by yerself. Ya don't even know what's wrong wit ya."

"AND YOU DO!?" I moved onto my front, standing up and opposing her head on.

"Yeah, Ah do." She walked closer to me and pushed her head against mine, glaring at me directly in the eyes. "YOU can't understand why yer feeling so angry, why ya wanna make stuff explode or disappear 'cus they're gettin' on yer nerves!"

I began pushing back against her head, returning her glare at full force. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME!? NOTHING! THAT'S WHAT! SO STOP ACTING LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH ME AND PISS OFF!"

"Ah said Ah know what's wrong wit ya!" She pushed back against my head, forcing hers to be just above it.

"WELL YOU CLEARLY DON'T!" I pushed back, stealing her position.

She pushed back even harder with too much force for me to handle, causing my head to get pushed back again. "Then YOU tell me what's wrong!"

"I'M PISSED OFF!"

"At who!?"

"I DON'T KNOW! EVERYONE!"

"Even Twahlight!?"

"SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"

"Then it ain't ev'ryone, is it!? Who're you angry at Corpus!? Tell me!"

"I-I DON'T KNOW OKAY!? I'M JUST, ANGRY!"

"Anger has to be directed at a thing! Who. Are. You. Angry. At!?

"I-I'm, angry AT MYSELF!" I pushed her head back and forced myself forwards, "I'M A MONSTER! I HATE MYSELF! I WISH I WERE DEAD!"

At this Applejack gave up resistance and took a few steps back, her face still as stern as it was a few moments ago. "And why's that?"

I began to break down, my legs became weak and tears started to well up in my eyes. "Because I've done things which can never be reversed, no matter how hard anyone wishes for it." My legs gave way, leaving me sitting on the grass, my voice becoming choked and my vision blurry with tears.

"...And do ya still feel angry?"

I shook my head, having difficulty allowing words to escape my mouth. "N-no... I, only feel confused." I few tears began rolling down the sides of my face and splashed on the grass, disintegrating into tiny droplets.

Applejack walked over to me and placed a hoof over my neck, pulling me into an embrace. "You will do. It's not easy coming to terms wit how you are, 'specially when it comes to the bad parts. But," She moved away and looked at me directly in the eyes, "Bein' true to yerself and to ev'ryone else, will always bring ya back on the right path. Yer friends'll always be here for ya, no matter yer past. 'Cus we befriended ya fer who you are, both the good and bad."

I stared into her tranquil eyes. Feeling a lot of pent up sadness override my body, tears started flowing out of me endlessly. And so we sat there for a few hours, with me letting out everything that had built up inside of me. Until the last of my tears had run dry, and I couldn't cry anymore...

* * *

**I... don't really have anything to say here really. Bit of a hard Chapter to draw something from :/**

**Anyway, I hope I made up in turnabouts for what I lacked in size XD**

**As always, review on the good, the bad and the myeh!**

**Bye bi!**


	14. Chapter 14: The 7th Noon: Ammendments

**Author's note: **

**Haha, a single day was split into 4 separate Chapters. And here I was planning on having trouble in making enough content for a single Chapter for every one of the days XD**

**I quite enjoyed writing this Chapter, it's allowed me to let my creative juices flow and finally get something done which I've been wanting to achieve for Celestia knows how long :D**

**And sorry about it being late, lots of work to get done and all :/**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**11:57 A.M...**_

The time was slowly approaching noon, when Celestia and Shining Armour would take their shift in keeping the giant magical bubble surrounding Equestria. On the balcony where they had started their shift, Cadence and Luna were still maintaining the spell, both Ponies almost completely exhausted from a long 12 hours of constant magical release. Twilight, however, had become too fatigued to continue the spell almost an hour and a half beforehand, despite wanting to continue and assist the two Princesses.

Celestia and Shining Armour walked onto the balcony, both of whom looked almost fully refreshed. Armour was about to wave to his wife and sister as they came into view, but instead rushed over quickly and worryingly to Twilight, who he saw laying on the floor. He picked her up with his hooves, holding her just in front of him as he sat down. "Twilley! Are you okay?" His worried eyes scanned her quickly.

Cadence smiled and spoke quietly, reassuring Armour's nerves. "Don't worry, she's only asleep." A quiet snore left Twilight's mouth. He then began chuckling and laid his sister back down, allowing her to sleep.

"Thank goodness." He turned his gaze to Cadence and Luna, "We'll take over now, you two go and get some rest." Armour's horn began glowing, keeping the spell going in Cadence's place.

Cadence's horn slowly began to lose its aura, "Thanks honey." She nuzzled up against his head as she walked past, he returned the affection and bid her farewell with a kiss.

"You too my sister, You'll need your rest if you're to lift the Moon tonight." Celestia walked up to Luna, standing besides her as her sister softened her magic.

"Yes, I believe I shall." Luna slowly and slightly shakily walked towards the balcony exit, a little too tired to indulge in conversation. As she left, she could only wonder at how Celestia could keep this spell up with the assistance of only one Pony and still raise the Sun halfway through her rest. She dismissed the thought as her only underestimating her sister and headed off to her room.

Celestia's horn started to glow, a light yellow aura surrounding Twilight. The next instant, Twilight had vanished and reappeared in a spare bed within the castle. "Looks like this is tougher on everypony than I thought." She turned to face Armour and expelled magic from her horn, keeping the bubble intact.

"Yeah, especially Twilight. She's the youngest and least experienced of us all." Armour spoke up, displaying a sense of concern.

"Maybe so, but she has, by far, the greatest raw potential I've seen in a long time. Maybe even more than myself." She beamed a smile at Armour, easing his worries a little.

"But she's still worn out easily. Maybe it'd be best if we didn't ask her to help, too much fatigue can damage the body quite a bit." Worry still seemed to display itself on his face.

"Although that may be true, we still need her. Just You, Luna, Candence and I won't be enough to hold this up for more than two days. With Twilight's help, we can keep this up for around a week."

"Mm... even so..." His concern for his sister easily was easily depicted on his face.

"Please trust me on this, Shining Armour." Armour looked at Celestia, he stared for a while before sighing and smiling at her.

"Alright, I trust ya Princess."

She smiled, sending a soft gaze to Armour. "I'm glad. Now, let's concentrate on finding the one we're after."

"Right." Armour nodded his head and carefully kept his magic flowing, being sure to use the minimum amount required to avoid over-exertion.

And thus began their second shift, waiting for a certain someone to arrive...

* * *

My eyes were hurting, they were still trying to let out tears even though none remained. I could feel Applejack's soft coat on my face, she hadn't left me for a second in the hours we had been here. She sat here with me and let me drench her shoulder in my tears, without even the slightest protest or haste to leave. Instead she used her energy comforting me, showing me what it was like to have a true friend who'll never leave your side when you need them. I sat back up and wiped the remnants of my previous tears from my face.

"...Thanks, Applejack. I feel much better now."

The mare smiled and began wiping her shoulder, removing the dried tears from her fur. "Ya'll don't need to thank me. I was jus' doin' what needed to be done."

"Still, I'm really grateful for you sticking around." A weak smile began to appear on my face.

"Well it's what friends are for, stickin' by each other when they're needed tha most."

Hearing that made my heart feel warm and full, something which I never would have thought possible to feel again just a mere few hours ago.

"So how did you know? About how I was feeling?"

She finished clearing her coat of any of my tears and knocked her Stetson up her head a little, bearing a smile at me as she did so.

"We've all had our fair share of troubles, some of which we had nopony to help us through. So now Ah can tell when someone else is goin' through a tough time and Ah have ta help them, Ah don't want anyone else going through what Ah did."

_Heh, what Twilight said is true. She really is a very dependable Pony. _

_(Yeah... I agree.)_

_ Are you okay? Your voice sounds a little hoarse. _

_(Mm, I'm okay. Just happy to see you out of that state.)_

"I'm still really glad that you stayed, I never would've broken out of it if you hadn't. And you really are good friend, Applejack." My smile maintained itself, fueled by the happiness and gratitude given to me by my country-speaking friend.

"Aw shucks. Y'all really don't have ta say that, I'm jus' doin' what felt right. And friends will only come about once a lifetime, so it's only right ta offer help whenever ya can."

I nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with her statement. She then turned around and began to walk off.

"Where you heading?" I took a step towards her.

She turned her head and gave me a sly smirk.

"Back ta the farm. Yer cryin' cost me a good few hours of work, so now I'm gonna hafta go overtime ta get it all done."

I chuckled, even though she's on such a tight schedule with work she still came to help me. I'm so glad that I have a friend like her, someone who'll willingly go far out of their way for anypony else that's needs her.

I played along with her banter, not knowing how fun it was.

"Well I'll be sure to keep the floodgates locked for now, don't want to cause another disturbance across town now, do I?"

She also chuckled, "You be sure ta do that. Don't wanna hafta get Big Mac on the case!"

A small laugh escaped me, "Who?"

"Don't worry, ya'll meet him on Wednesday when we're taking ya in fer a while."

A happy sensation washed over me, forcing me to refuel my smile. "So I'm going to be under your care next?"

"That's the way Celestia put it." She turned her body slightly, guess time's really starting to get on.

"Then I'll be looking forward to it." I gave her a wave, showing that I acknowledged that she needed to get going.

She gave me one last smile before heading back to Ponyville, ready to make up for lost time on the farm.

_I kinda wish that she'd be able to stay a bit longer. _

_(Same here. I mean, she's such a good babysitter for you. It'd be a waste if we let her walk away now.) _

_Who're you saying needs a babysitter? If she looks after me then she also looking after you. _

_(Not really, we're closer to two separate peopl-) _

_Ponies, you've really got to get it right. We've had a complete species change. _

_(Two separate Ponies, then, than we are the same one.) _

_Only because we can converse with each other. _

_(And because we have separate forms, that kinda contributes a lot.) _

_What do you mean two separate forms? The brain is still a part of the body. _

_(Meh, I'll tell you at a later time. For now, I suppose it'd be best to apologize to the Ponies we upset earlier.) _

_You just read my mind. _

_(I know I did, all of your thoughts have to pass through me first after all.) _

_I wasn't being metaphorical, I was stating a fact. _

_(No you weren't, I can see your thoughts. I know when you're lying.) _

_...Well played. Anyway, let's hurry up. I don't think many of them will still be there. _

_(Yeah, let's go.)_

I started to make my way back towards Ponyville too, a small pain brewing itself in my stomach at the thought of confronting those Ponies again.

* * *

After about a 15 minute walk, I end up back in the same market district from before. Looking around, I don't see any of the Ponies from earlier.

_I guess they all went home..._

_(Not quite. To your left, around fifty metres away.)_

I turn around and look into a small crowd of Ponies gathered at a stage of sorts. I think this is the town hall, I remember it from the other day. Sifting my vision through them, I begin to see a few familiar faces, including the one of the Stallion I scared earlier. Now that I'm out of blind rage, I'm actually able to take in his features. He's a Pegasus with a light blue coat and wings. And his mane and tail were a darker blue, both were somewhat spiky.

_Guess I'd better apologize to him first, he did try to help me after all._

_(Yeah, there's the mare you shouted at too. Just on the other side of the crowd.)_

_Gotcha._

I approached the Stallion I earlier snapped at, he was tilting his head downwards a bit, guessing he's still upset about earlier. But then again, anypony would be. I tapped him on the shoulder, he turned around and instantly recognised who I was. An expression of fear washing over his face shortly afterwards. He turned to try to run.

"Wait. I've... come to apologize." I looked off slightly, feeling a little embarrassed about apologizing to a complete stranger.

He stopped in position, his fore-hooves off the ground from where he was about to run. He lowered himself back down onto the ground and looked at me slightly confused. "P-pardon?"

I looked back at him, my eyes completely sincere. "I'm really sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have snapped at you like I did, especially since you were trying to help me. I was kinda irritated and ended up on taking it out on all of you, so I'm sorry and hope that you'll forgive me." I bowed my head down, showing respect and asking for forgiveness.

His body relaxed and he sighed, happily. "Sure I'll forgive you. Although I shouldn't have interfered with you and your marefriend..."

I looked back up, a bit of surprise on my face. "O-oh no, no. We're... we're not going out. We're just friends. And you had every right to interfere, I was completely in the wrong and needed to be put in place."

He placed a kind smile on his face, "Don't be so hard on yourself, everyone gets a little trouble sometime. It just so happened that today was when it happened to you."

I was taken almost completely by surprise. _He's being this kind to me even though I treated him like crap, maybe everypony's like this? _

_(Possibly. They all gave you sharp stares earlier, but if they're all like him then I'd expect them to all forgive you quite easily.) _

_Heh, I kind of hope so. It'd be nice living in a place with no hate._

He held his hoof out to me, I stood there confused for a few seconds before extending my hoof to his.

"My name's Blue No-... um... aren't you, uh, going to shake?" He looked at our hooves, just extended in mid-air next to each other, not moving.

"A-ah, yeah. Of course I am, hahaha..." _Please tell me you know how to shake with these things!_

_ (Sorry, I haven't a clue. They're not made for grabbing things...) _

_Then how did the others shake and grab stuff with their hooves!? _

_(I don't know, they defy the laws of physics I'm used to! Ponies make no sense!)_

I glanced back up at him, he looked like he were experiencing something kinda awkward... I suppose he is...

_Okay, I'm going for it! _

_(Be careful, you don't want to pull something.) _

_Don't think that's possible... _

_(Look at what you're doing. You're about to grab someone else's hoof with your own and shake it, this is just as possible as that.) _

_...*sniff* I don't like these physics..._

I moved my hoof into his and tries to grab it, but only to move his further away.

"D-don't you want to shake?" He began to pull his hoof back.

"No! I do want to! I'm... just practicing." I moved my hoof outwards and tried to grab his retracting hoof, knocking it away again.

"I-if you don't want to just say so..." He brought his hoof closer to himself.

_Damnit! What do I do?_

_ (I got it! Try Applejack's hoof shake!)_

_ Of course! Holding it between two hooves will stop it from moving!_

I shot my other hoof out at his one along with my already primed one, grabbing it from both sides. I then applied some force to ensure that his hoof didn't slip away and shook my legs up and down, shaking his hoof successfully.

"So what's your name?" I continued shaking his hoof, unaware that I was doing so.

"I-it's B-Bl-Blue N-Notes." His voice was shaking from his body moving up and down from the force of my shaking. "P-please stop shaking my ho-oof."

Hearing his plea, I suddenly realised that I hadn't stopped. I let go of his hoof and stood on all fours again.

"S-sorry." I chuckled nervously. "My name's Corpus. Corpus Callosum."

He looked a little taken back, obviously he thought my name was weird.

"O-oh, is that so? Well it's good to meet you... under better conditions, that is." His head sank towards the ground slightly.

I nervously rubbed the back of my head, "Y-yeah... it's better like this."

Suddenly his eyes opened up wide. "Wait, now I remember you! You were that new Pony who Pinkie threw a party for last week!" He pointed at me, as if I were some form of clue in an investigation.

"Yeah, that's me." _Completely forgot that everyone in Ponyville was invited to it..._

_ (Ah... that's pretty bad then...) _

_How so? _

_(Everyone who glared at you earlier, they all know that you're new around here... they might not be as forgiving as him.)_

_ Ohh... just when I thought that it'd be easier to apologize..._

"So do you have a place to stay? If not then you're welcome to stay at mine."

I couldn't help but smile at his kindness. "Thanks for the offer, I'd really appreciate it. But at the moment I'm staying with Fluttershy, the yellow Pegasus from earlier."

"Oh... you mean, uhm, her..." His expression sank into a slight awkwardness.

"Y-yeah... but don't worry! I'll do anything I can to make it up to her!"

"That'd probably be best. So are you staying there for long or...?"

"Not really. I'll be there until Wednesday morning, then I'll be living with Applejack for a while."

"Applejack? So you're going to be at Sweet Apple Acres for a while? Y'know, the big farm off to the South of here."

"Yeah, I think so. Twilight mentioned something about her working on a farm with apples and such."

"I see, so you're friends with the Apple family then?"

"Mmm..." My face contorted a little, "Not really. Only met them a week ago, same with Fluttershy and everyone else."

"Oh, so you've started a completely new slate here then?" He raised a hoof to his chin.

"Pretty much, yeah." I nodded in confirmation.

"So where did you come from beforehand? If you don't mind me asking."

"I'm from-"

Suddenly I blacked out, feeling like my body fade into nothingness as my vision blurred...

* * *

_Agh... my head... it's hurting again..._

"Born and raised in Japan."

_Huh? ...It's my voice again... What does it mean Japan? Where is that?_

"Moved to England in teen years and became an amazing tennis player."

_What? I'm not talking about myself am I? I can't be, I was brought up in England wasn't I?_

"I'm from England, in the United Kingdom. It's quite a ways to the West of here, it took me 12 hours by plane to get here. So, were you born here in Tokyo?"

_This is my voice too... why're they contradicting each other?_

"Spent entire life in Japan, currently top scoring student in the country."

_S-stop! You're confusing me! I can't be from all of those places! They don't add up at all!_

**"I shall become the God of the New World! Every criminal shall die by my righteous hand, as I purge all evil and cleanse this world of its scum!"**

_T-that... can't be me... T-there's no way I-I'd ever say that... I wouldn't say that!_

**"This Death Note gives me the power to do this! The power to create my ideal world, I shall erase all that oppose me with this power. This power given to me by the Gods of Death themselves!"**

_That's not me! I wouldn-_

"Not if I stop you."

_Huh...?_

**"Hahaha! You can't stop me! I know your name and face, I'll kill you in an instant! Now DIE!"**

_Why is this memory surfacing...? Did I really do something like this!?_

"Ugh... my... heart. C-curse... you. L-L.i.g.h.."

* * *

My consciousness returned, my mouth still open from where I was cut off mid-sentence. Only I couldn't finish my sentence, not after hearing that...

_(C-Corpus...?) _

_Y-yeah...? _

_(That was... a killing. Wasn't it...?)_

_ Y-yeah... A memory of me... killing someone... _

_(That was the old you! You're different now! Remember what Applejack said! It doesn't matter what you once did, the people around you like you for who you are! They accept both the good and the bad!)_

_But they don't know the bad... how can they accept it?_

_(Then tell them when the time is right! They'll accept it then!)_

_They won't. No-one would ever accept a murderer..._

_(But you're not a murderer! You're Corpus! An Alicorn! You're no longer that murderer!)_

_But I am. Ly... that's what he said... the man who died. That's my real name..._

_(...I don't know. But snap out of this! Look, just keep going how you were a minute ago! We'll re-shape your life! We'll make it better! So just keep going, for now...)_

_I... don't want to._

"...I didn't quite catch that. Where are you from?" Blue looked at me, confused.

_(Come on... answer him.)_

_...Don't want to..._

_(Haa... I really don't want to do this, but you're leaving me with no choice.)_

"Ah, sorry. I kinda spaced out there." _I placed my hoof behind my head and laughed._ "I'm from England, it's pretty far to the West of here. Outside of Equestria." _Only this isn't me. I'm not doing anything... I'm not trying to do any of this._

Blue stroked his chin, "England... Don't think I've ever heard of it."

"Not many Ponies have. So what about you? Are you from here?" _It's still not me... but my mouth is still moving, my voice is still escaping..._

_(I've taken control.) _

_W-what...? _

_(You weren't going to respond, you were going to waste your friend's efforts in making you see the good. So I'm taking over temporarily, until you can learn to move and think on your own two feet again.) _

_...Why? Why help a murderer?_

_ (You're not a murderer! I'm going to make you see this, even if I have to force it into you! Now, just sit there and wait, I'll come back to you later. Play on the Ponystation or something, I don't care.)_

"Yup!" He placed his hoof back onto the ground, "Born and raised here in Ponyville."

"So I guess that means you know everyone here, right?"

"Almost, every now and then somepony new comes in. I'm usually quite busy with work so I don't get to meet new ponies when they arrive."

"So where do you work?"

He turned until his flank was in plain view. "Well, as you can see here I'm a pianist." There was a tattoo of a grand piano with musical notes flowing out from the open top.

_(Even he has a tattoo. This can't be a coincidence can it? And he acted like it was normal, as if this mark should be there.)_

He turned back, "I work at the Ponyville studio just down the street. I assist new singers and bands with a bass line and melody. It's pretty good pay too. So what's your mark?"

_(What? I'm supposed to have one too? ...But I don't see one.) _"I don't have one."

He blinked twice in surprise. "You don't have one? So, you don't know your special talent yet?"

_(Special talent?) _"No, not yet. I've no idea what I'm good at." _(So they're linked to someone's talent? Guess that'd explain his and Fluttershy's marks, but do they get them put on by law? Does the government do it to identify their jobs or usefulness? I guess I'll find out sooner or later.)_

"Come on, surely there's one thing that you're good at?" He inclined his head toward me, urging me to try and think of something.

"Hmm... well, I'm pretty good with a joystick. I can even move Pony sized objects if they're wired up correctly." _(Haha. It's a pity that no-one apart from me gets the joke.)_

His eyes widened and he looked at me dumbfounded. "And that's not your special talent? But, that alone is amazing! How could your talent be better than that?"

"I-I don't know, haha..." _(Ahh... this is going to get awkward...)_

"That's really strange. For most Ponies, they get their Cu-"

"Attention citizens of Ponyville!"

_(Hm? Someone's on the stage, a very light, dusty brown mare wearing a collar with a big puffy... green, thing... with a white and grey, curly mane and tail was stood there, talking to everyone. Oh, and she's wearing glasses... Why was that the last thing I noticed?)_

"There have been a few incidents across parts of Equestria, somepony has been committing atrocious crimes."

"Now most of you won't want to hear this, but it is vital that everypony is alerted as soon as possible! There has been a stallion on the run from the Royal guards for quite some time now, as a few of you may have heard from friends and family elsewhere in Equestria. But he is now in Ponyville! And the crimes he is accused with, Assault and Murder!"

Almost everyone in the crowd gasped and looked at the Pony on stage, expressions of shock and fear coating their faces.

"But do not worry, there have been no reports of any crime in our town of Ponyville." She nodded to a Royal guard behind her. "We will now show you wht the culprit looks like. If you see him, be sure to alert someone of high authority immediately!"

The Royal Guard's horn glowed and a big piece of paper came up from behind the mare, the parchment unfurled and beared the image of the culprit on it. My eyes shot open and my pupils shrank from what I saw. Taking a step back, I start to move out of the crowd...

* * *

**So, what did you think?**

**And I'm glad you liked the previous Chapter ShiningShadow! Never thought that my story would induce tears :D**

**Again, sorry for the late Chapter. Tomorrow I'll bring out both 15 and 16 as repayment!**

**Anyway, review on the good, the bad and the myeh!**

**Bye bi!**


	15. Chapter 15: The 7th Evening: High Alert

**Author's Note:**

**Here ya go! Chapters 15 and 16 as promised! Just a little late is all... :/**

**Here's hoping that this Chapter lives up to your expectations. :)**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I stepped back, reversing out of the bustling and panicking crowd after the unveiling of the criminal. It seems that everypony's scared and trying to get away from the Town hall...

_(Crap, this isn't good! I've got to hurry!)_ Once in a space big enough, I quickly turned and came face to face with a pony stood in front of me. Gasping, some words left her mouth.

"I...I found you..."

The mare lifted her head, her long pink mane falling out of the way of her face. The yellow Pegasus' eyes were glistening, seeming like she was about to cry.

"I-I'm really, really, really, really, _really _sorry for earlier. I shouldn't have been so persistent in what was making you upset. There are things that everypony wants to keep secret, especially if they don't want their friends to worry. So I'm really sorry for shouting at you when you might have been trying to make me worry less." A few tears began leaking from her eyes.

"N-no, don't apologize. I was completely in the wrong, I never should have shouted at you. Instead," I placed a hoof around her neck and pulled her in for a hug, watching to make sure no Ponies hit us, "I should have been grateful that you were that worried about me." I moved away from the hug, "Only true friends would care for another like that." I gave her a heart-warming smile, her mouth shakily formed into a smile.

She sniffed, "S-so you're not mad?"

My smile continued, "Nope, quite the opposite actually. I'm extremely grateful." I walked past her and pulled her along by her shoulder, "But right now we need to leave, it's going to get a little hectic here."

Fluttershy got startled at almost being dragged across the floor, but even when she regained a bit of composure she didn't inch. " W-why? What's going to happen?" Her voice began wobbling, and she _still_ didn't bother changing her body position as I'm now effectively being forced to drag her...

"..." _(Ahh... what do I say? I can't tell her that there's a murderer running about, she faint on the spot! And it'd be impossible to get her outside with that in mind too.)_ "There's a bad Pony running about in Ponyville, he's... a thief." I moved my eyes to the peripherals of their sockets, glancing back at her. "He'll steal items from your saddlebag when you're not looking. Everypony's trying to get away right now."

She suddenly broke free of my pull and brought her hooves to her mouth as she gasped. "That's just terrible! There's such a scary Pony lurking around Ponyville? What if he comes for us? What if he steals from us!" She began entering a miniature panic attack.

_(Oh come on! A thief! She's afraid of a petty thief! How!? How can someone be afraid of something so unbearably harmless!? What could I have said? A thief is the least scariest problem I can imagine anyone would want to avoid! ...Haa... Might as well try comforting her.)_

"Don't worry, I'll personally make sure that he doesn't come near us. Mark my word!" I gave her a confident smirk, hoping that it would do something about her nerves.

"T-thank you Corpus." A relieved smile formed on her face, "I was really scared for a moment there..."

_(You don't say...)_

"Hey, Corpus. Do you know who tha-..." Blue turned to his side, noticing the lack of a certain Unicorn. "W-where did he go? Corpus! Cooorpus!" The blue Pegasus begins looking around himself for his new friend, only to no avail. He began mumbling to himself, deeply lost in his thoughts "He couldn't have gotten far. Thinking about it, he may have gone to look for his friend Fluttershy. I better go look for him, I've got the terrible feeling that something bad's going to happen..." He began making his way out of the crowd, searching for Corpus among the panicking Ponies.

"Do not fear everypony!" All of the running and worried looking ponies stopped in their tracks and looked back at the mare on stage. "Royal guards have been issued to guard and patrol the town. You will all be under their safe protection until the criminal is caught! I swear, as Town Mayor, that we will catch this monster without anyone falling victim to his crimes! Ponyville is going into a state of 'High Alert'!"

Everyone stared at her, mouths hanging open all over the place and some ponies even having a look of intense fear in their eyes.

I, also, turned to look. "'High Alert'? What's that?" I looked to Fluttershy, seeing the same fear printed on her face. ""F-Fluttershy?"

She lowered down and began backing away slightly. "H-High Alert is when everyone in Ponyville are given jobs as precautions to catch a pony. But not just any jobs... These are super scary, health threatening, danger filled, military-style jobs." Her voice was becoming fainter as she continued.

"W-what...? J-just what are these precautions?" Something about what Fluttershy said had made me feel increasingly nervous, as if I weren't going to like this 'High Alert' in the slightest...

She was shuddering slightly. Wanting to hide her face away, she made her mane fall over one eye. "E-everyone in Ponyville... g-gets ready to fight, and there were costs last time..." I could faintly see a wet line under her partially visible eye.

"This has happened before?" _(I can't believe this! I thought this world was peaceful! Only first world problems existing, not stuff like this! Not only a murderer, but a pre-caution for a murderer? And it's been used before! Which means there have been at least two cases similar to this before now!)_

She only nodded, staying silent.

_(I want to press her further, but it'll probably come with a lot of consequence. I'll spare her bringing up bad memories.)_

"Hey! Corpus!"

I turned my head to see Blue Notes running towards me from within the panicking crowd, calling out my name once more as he neared us.

"I wondered where you went," He saw the heavily intimidated Fluttershy behind me, "Ah, you must be Fluttershy." He extended a hoof to her, "I'm Blue Notes, it's nice to meet you."

She glanced up at his hoof, whispering quietly. "I-It's nice to meet you too..."

He slowly withdrew his hoof, whispering to me quietly. "Did she hear about 'High Alert'?"

I returned the whisper, making sure Fluttershy didn't see or hear. "Yeah, is it really this bad?"

"Unfortunately, yes. It's only happened five times before in the last few hundred years. Every time, a minimum of 5 Ponies ended up dying whilst on 'High Alert'. But don't go asking anypony about it, it's a very delicate matter here. The mayor would only initiate it as a final resort, due to the bad memories this town has of it." He looked completely serious, his earlier smile no longer here.

We heard a voice start to call out again, everypony stopped and looked at the mayor again, fear and despair filling their eyes.

"Please remain calm everypony! As I said, nopony will be a victim this time. We will do our best to protect all of you, no matter what!"

Everyone shifted uncomfortably until a single familiar voice called out from among them.

"Yeah! We believe in you Mayor! There's no way anyone's gonna fall victim, we'll all work together against it! Nopony can beat Ponyville when we all team up! Who's with me!?"

Ponies began looking at the source of the voice, and, slowly, one by one, began to rally up and accept their jobs. Although around half were still scared and didn't make a sound.

The Mayor smiled, "Thank you for your support, Rainbow Dash."

_(What? Rainbow's here as well?) _Looking around I don't see her anywhere.

"Heh, no biggie! I can at least do this much to help Ponyville." She swooped down from a cloud high above the Town Hall, landing next to the Mayor. "There's absolutely no way I wouldn't help!"

"That's good, because you're playing quite an important role in this one."

A look of mixed surprise and slight joy washed over Dash's face. "Really? What am I going to be doing?"

I'll tell you all right now." The Mayor turned back to the crowd and spoke again. "I shall now tell you all of your jobs! All able flying Pegasi are to do air patrols around the town. There'll be Nine active Pegasi at all times, and you will be doing shifts of two hours."

"How is that an important job? I'm just doing the same as every other Pegasus!" Rainbow moved her head closer to the Mayor, a displeased look about her as if she'd been cheated.

"Because you, Rainbow Dash, shall be the leader of the Pegasi Air Units. This task can only be entrusted to a strong and noble flyer, and you're the best candidate for the job."

Rainbow's face displayed a sense of pure and utter joy and a loud squeal escaped her lips. She placed her hooves onto her cheeks and launched into the air, hoof pumping the space above her head. "Yes! I'm the leader of the Pegasi Air Unit! This is so AWESOME!"

The Mayor let out a small laugh at the over-enthusiastic Pegasus, and turned back to the rest of the crowd. "As for the Earth Ponies and Unicorns, all who are capable of running fast and/or hitting hard shall be the Ground Patrol Units. There will be Royal Guards posted at very specific locations, so get to them for help if you manage to find this criminal! And there are those of you who have been sent a letter before coming here, you shall be the Town Guardians. You will move along with the patrol Units and help anypony who needs it, no matter how big or small the problem. In addition, you are our main fighting force against this criminal. You will have been chosen if you are dependable and/or capable of protecting others when they are in need. The leader of the Guardians shall be Applejack. But due to work on Sweet Apple Acres, she will not be able to attend most of the time. And so I entrust it to you, the other Guardians, to do a great job and keep everypony safe! And as for everyone else, please stay at home and do not leave without assistance of a Guardian or Royal Guard. In seven hours, we shall initiate High Alert, thank you for your time!"

The Mayor left the stage and the crowd broke out into noise. Various conversations of joy, excitement and pure fear running along the air of the Ponies.

"Guess that means I'm in the Air Unit, huh?"

I turn my head to see Blue Notes, looking at the stage with a serious expression.

"Do you not want to be in them?"

"It's not that. It's just that last time I was stuck indoors," He turned to me and bore his teeth in a smile, "So I'm actually kinda glad that I'll be allowed out this time."

"Oh, okay. Guess being on the look out would be better than being stuck indoors. So, how long does 'High Alert' last for?"

"Until he's caught. Could be any time from a few days to a few months."

My mouth fell, not believing this. "What? I can't stay inside for a few months! I need to be moving around Ponyville for the time being!"

"Don't worry," Fluttershy spoke up softly, trying to dismiss my worries, "With everypony working this hard, he should be caught in a few days... hopefully..."

"Not to mention that you have a job to do as well, Corpus."

We both turned our heads and saw the Mayor approaching us.

"W-wait, how do you know my name?"

"I was at the party last week, half of everypony in town knows who you are. Well, the half that stuck around and saw your dancing that is." She began laughing, trying her absolute best to keep it in.

_(...And that's what I'm known for now? I can tell this will be fun.)_

Her laughing outbreak was finally averted, she looked back at me. "I need you to be a Guardian. I heard that you were sent here by Celestia herself, so I have the utmost confidence in you." A warm smile grew on her, almost as if trying to invite me to say 'Yes'.

I didn't respond, I only stood there.

"I have no idea where you live, so I wasn't able to send you a letter. So I was going to visit Twilight Sparkle after the announcement, before I saw you standing there in the crowd. So," She reached a hoof out to me, "Will you accept?"

"...No."

She looked really taken back, as did Blue and Fluttershy, the latter of whom just raised her head.

"P-pardon?" She blinked in disbelief, the really fun Pony she saw at the party just coldly and instantly turned down her invitation.

"I can't accept a role in this. I was sent here by Celestia to accomplish something other than this. I don't know what it is, or why I'm doing it. But I do know that it's much more important to me than being a Guardian." The mayor's eyes opened wider, her mouth beginning to open slightly. "Please don't take it the wrong way. I understand that this is a very important issue that needs to be addressed as soon as possible, but right now I have something else to be getting on with, in addition to what Celestia's already asked of me."

The Mayor stood dumbfounded, as did Blue and Fluttershy. But then the Mayor's lips formed back into a smile. "Okay, I accept your decision. But can you promise me one thing?"

"Almost definitely." I nodded.

"Can you help in the criminal's capture if you come across him? We need every helping hoof we can get."

"...Well, what I'm doing does partially revolve around the criminal. Not Celestia's order, my own thing. And I can't guarantee that I'll be able to capture him, but I'll do my best."

The Mayor's face lit up with delight. "Thank you, your help will be very appreciated."

"But be careful."

She looked at me in confusion. "About what?"

"His method of killing, he's very, VERY dangerous."

Blue intervened, "Wait, you know him?"

I shook my head. "No, I only know about him. And I can tell you this, he isn't like anypony you've ever seen before."

They both remained quiet, before the Mayor spoke up. "I understand, thank you for telling us. And you can have permission to walk around Ponyville as you like, I'll inform the Patrol Units and the Guardians of this too."

"Thanks." I gave her a smile, "And don't worry about it." I turned and walked toward Fluttershy, who was still hiding behind her mane. "Let's go, we have to make sure the animals are alright." I placed a softening smile upon my face.

Fluttershy looked at me and, slowly, a smile of her own began to form. "O-okay..." She nodded, but then gasped and brought her head up. "We still haven't fed them! We have to hurry!" She turned and took off, going back towards her cottage.

"And Corpus?"

I turned my head, seeing Blue looking at me before speaking.

"Be sure to keep her safe, okay?" He gave me a grin.

I returned it and nodded, "You got it."

With that, I turned face and followed down the path Fluttershy had sped along. To prepare for my own version of 'High Alert'.

* * *

_8 hours later at Fluttershy's cottage, **09:34 P.M...**_

"Okay, all of the animals are tucked away and sleeping." Fluttershy closed the door behind her, back to her usual demeanor.

"That's good. I doubt he'll come out here, he's on the run so he'll want to avoid all confrontation with everypony."

"Yes, I hope so." She walked in further, approaching me who was sat on the sofa.

"Don't worry I'm sure of it." I stood up off of the sofa and headed to the stairs. "I'm going to go to bed now, we'll spend the next few days looking after the animals. We're not allowed anywhere else after all."

"Okay, I'll head up too then." She also approached the flight, ascending them after I had.

After bidding good nights, we each went into our separate rooms. Once in mine, I climbed into bed and rolled onto my side, falling quietly into a deep sleep.

* * *

_Unknown, Unknown ?:? ?.?..._

_I've been here for a few hours now, but it feels like days... I've been wanting to die. I'm a murdering monster, I deserve to die. I didn't even save that person any mercy... I was drunk with power... But I can't die... the only thing I can do is play on this console, which I don't want to do... There isn't even any scenary or objects to kill myself with, it's just a blank wasteland... nothing but whiteness..._

"Corpus!"

"W...what?" _There's no-one here, who said that?_

All of a sudden, a bright light flashed in front of me. I looked forward and saw a human. He had rich auburn, but close to orange, hair, styled in a kinda scruffy but organised manner. The back of which reached down to an inch above his shoulders. He's wearing glasses and a lab coat, his hands in his pockets. Under his lab coat he's wearing a red buttoned up shirt with darker red lines moving along it horizontally and vertically, making a grid-like/criss-cross pattern. He's also wearing trainers and blue work jeans with a brown belt threading through the straps, combining a casual, labouring-worker appearance with that of a scientist. An odd mixture but, it works somehow.

"Get up!"

Taken back by his command, I stand. An empty feeling still in my eyes. I recognised his voice... after all, it's the same as mine. This is my sub-consciousness...

"Why're you here? I thought you were taking over until I 'healed', until I was no longer a murderer..."

"I've come to train you, nothing more."

Despite not feeling much emotion, this was beginning to get under my skin. "Training for what? Not being a murderer!? Fitting in to society!?" I slammed my hoof against the white floor. "You can't change what I am! You can't take back the lives I have taken! Just leave me to DIE!" Rage was beginning to build inside of me again.

He sighed, taking his right hand out of his pocket to push his glasses up his face. He then looked at me with the most serious of looks in his eyes. "I've come to train your mind, to make you realise what you are, and end this stupid murderer charade. Even if you disagree, I'll force you to do it."

"And what do you think you can do to force me to do it!? If you kill me then you'll only just accomplish what I want!"

"...And what if I told you that when I die," He gave me a dagger-like gaze, "You also die?"

"...What do you mean?" I narrowed my eyes, beginning to despise his existence. He's just another murderer like me.

"In here, it's impossible for you to die, so you'll be left here suffering the pain of life if I leave. But now a chance to end your life has come," His glare intensified, "So what do you do? Do you train, in hopes of dying? Or do you sit idly, living a lowly, pitiful existence?"

I stood there, motionless... Until I opened my mouth, and words flowed out in a shaky manner... forming my answer...

* * *

**This was supposed to be a short 'checkpoint' Chapter, but oh well :P**

**This is what I've been wanting to do for ages, so how did you find it? :)**

**Review on the good, the bad and the myeh!**

**Bye bi!**


	16. Chapter 16: Sub-consciousness I

**Author's note:**

**I decided to experiment a little with this Chapter, so tell me what you think :)**

**A quick word of warning: This Chapter has, by far, the most violence yet. If you hate violence then please brace yourself somewhat before reading.**

**Also, this Chapter will involve switching between perspectives. It should be simple to follow. If 'Corpus' is used, then it's in his sub-conscious' perspective and vice versa for when 'He' is used as the main 2nd person :D**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. In this Chapter, they are his sub-consciousness' own thoughts. No-one, including Corpus, can hear them.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

My mouth shook, my breath becoming heavy. I felt an adrenaline like never before invade my body, filling me with energy as my answer came through.

"I'll fight!" I thrusted my head forward, a sense of life returning to me eyes as they fixed on my target. "I'll fight you, and kill you! Then I can be happy... then I can get my deserved fate!"

He chuckled, returning his hand to its pocket. "Good, looks like you're willing to get started now. So," He smiled, his eyes no longer shooting daggers, "Do you mind if I adopt a name?"

"It won't matter, no-one will know it once we're dead!" I charge at him, running as fast as I could.

"That's good to hear." He held out his hand as I approached, jumping to the side and grabbing me by my horn. "Then I'll call myself 'Ly'." An evil grin bearing itself on his face.

Something snapped inside of me. Hearing him use that name as it were nothing, and then directing that deranged smile at me. It pisses me off. My pupils and irises shrank, I summoned magic into my horn and blasted him away with levitation.

"...You... will NOT use that name!" I could feel a fire of rage burning inside of me again, only now I had a target to fully unleash it on.

He landed on his feet, crouching over to reduce momentum whilst maintaining balance. "What's wrong?" He stood back up and looked at me slyly, provoking me for another attack. "I thought you said that it didn't matter what name I used?"

I brought my hoof along the white ground under me, kicking up dust. "I did but-!"

"Then why're you so pissy about it?" His smile turned kind and unbearably aggravating again, "Unless, you can't stand killing 'yourself'?"

I'm pissed... "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I charge at him again, anger leaking from my eyes as I moved a large amount of power to my horn, making it radiate a brilliant orange.

* * *

Corpus approached me, angrier than ever before. He's expulsing a considerable amount of energy from his horn, it'd burn quite a bit to touch it.

_(Heh... Step 1, is under way.)_

I waited for him to get close. Once he was a metre away, I jumped, placing my hands on his back and vaulting over him. I turned and saw him coming to a halt, only to charge at me again.

"Honestly, won't you learn? Simply running at me won't stop me. As a Murderer, I'm exceptionally skilled at fighting!"

_(This smirk should do it, he won't be able to take much more before he breaks.)_

His eyes widened and his irises shrank even further, displaying pure rage at me. He snorted, and charged at me again.

My smile fell, making an unimpressed expression instead. "Seriously..." I kicked him in the face, sending him flying a few metres to the left, "Fight seriously or don't fight at all!"

* * *

His voice roared over to me. I stood back up and looked at him angrily, a mark appearing where his foot had hit me.

"You think I'm not fighting seriously...? HOW THE FUCK WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT I'M DOING!?" I opened my wings, using them for extra propulsion and to increase the aerodynamics of my body. Charging, I approach him a lot fast than my last few attempts.

His eyes turned angry and his brow lowered, "Because I'm a murderer!"

He grabbed my face, stopping my movement completely. He lifted his arm and smashed my head into the ground, sending intensely strong vibrations of pain throughout my skull.

"AAHHH!" It wouldn't stop, with every pulse of my heart the pain would re-ignite in the back of my skull. Forcing me to keel over in agony whilst my head was still in his grip.

"If you don't fight seriously, then I'll inflict the greatest pain on you imaginable!" He added more pressure onto my head, making me scream in pain. "Now, say my name!"

I looked at him through the gap in his fingers. "What...? What do you mean say your name!?" I gritted my teeth in pain and anger.

He pushed my head into the ground harder, refreshing the constant pain in my head. "I mean say my name! Acknowledge that I am Ly!"

My body pulled itself inwards, closer to a fetal position. I glanced back through his fingers, tears beginning to well up in my eyes from the excruciating experience.

"...y..."

"I can't hear you!" My head experienced more strain and force, it felt like it was going to split open any second.

"L-LY! YOUR NAME IS LY!" Tears began streaming across to my nose... then the pain lightened slightly.

Instead I felt a different force on my head and neck, Gravity. He had picked me up by my head and let my body dangle down.

"Good." He threw me off to the side, causing my body to slide across the smooth white surface we were fighting on.

* * *

I threw him to the side, watching his body slide across the ground helplessly.

_(Good, Step 1 has been completed. Now to initiate Step 2)_

Corpus slowly began to lift himself up, his legs shaking underneath him. I began walking over to him, giving him a glare wishing him death. He managed to stable himself upon his legs, he looked up at me and saw my eyes, making him back away with a scared look on his face.

I silently progressed towards him, filling him with fear. "Get ready..."

He fell over onto his haunches and began to use his fore hooves to push himself away from me, his face stricken with intense fear and tears rolling down his cheeks. "F-f-for w-what...? W-what're you g-going to d-d-do to me...?" New tears began to move down his face, adding on to the older ones.

"You wanted to fight me, so I'm going to show you," I cracked my knuckles, standing at a point where I'm looming over him, "The severity of the mistake you made!" My voice boomed out like a roar, making his eyes widen and his mouth open, about to plea.

Then my fist came down, hitting him hard in the face and knocking him to the floor. He lifted himself up slightly, his wet fear-filled eyes catching me in their sights. Again, he was about to plead until my foot connected with his stomach. He flew another few meters across the room, coughing intensely and crying loudly. I began to approach him again.

"P-please... s-stop..." He looked at me, despair, fear and anguish all flowing from his eyes, all in the form of watery drops. "P-p-please leave m-me alone..." His lower lip was wobbling insanely, all he wanted was for me to leave him be.

I reached my open hand out to him, taking him by surprise. He looked up at me hopefully, then in utter fear. I lifted him up by his neck until he was at eye level, piercing into his very being with my eyes. He was choking for breath, raising his hooves to my arms in a struggle to break free. I brought back my free hand and curled it into a fist, thrusting it onto his stomach and sending him through the air yet again. He hit the floor head first and continued to bound along until he came to a steady stop, laying on the floor motionless.

"This is the cost of want, learn it." I walked to Corpus' motionless being, "If you ever aim to have what you desire, have the strength to take it!" I stood over his body, blood leaking out of his mouth and running down his head from his injuries. A large bruise making itself known to his swollen jaw, and the coat on his face stained with a mixture of his blood and tears. "And if you ever get the opportunity to take everything you want, meet it head on with a heart of Gold." I turned back around, twisting my head and looking over my shoulder at my defeated opponent, "And never falter or lose your path, else... you'll be meeting the gates of Hell, where I'll stand to pound you back to reality." I began to leave, abandoning the true physical form of our body in the white desolate expanse. I began to fade, returning to the realm outside of Corpus' sub-conscious domain.

_(Step 2, complete.)_

* * *

_Several, several hours or days later..._

"Uggh... what... happened...?"

I slowly sat up, pain quickly coursing throughout my entire being as I moved, forcing me to lay back down.

"M-my body hurts... why...?" I look down at myself, seeing bandages on my chest. I could also feel strips of pressure on my forehead, are there bandages there too?

I painfully move onto my side, seeing a table next to me. There's a tea pot and a cup and saucer laid atop it. But past there, there's nothing... just, white...

"Where am I...? I'm...? In a bed... I'm slipping... can't stay... awake..."

My consciousness left me, leaving my body almost lifeless upon this bed. I didn't wake up for a while, instead I only slept... and dreamed...

* * *

**_"Fight seriously or don't fight at all!"_**

**_"Because I'm a murderer!"_**

**_"I'll show you... the severity of the mistake you made!"_**

**_"If you ever aim to have what you desire, have the strength to take it!"_**

**_"You'll be meeting the gates of Hell, where I'll stand to pound you back to reality."_**

* * *

_Several more hours/days later..._

"Nng..." I slowly open my eyes, everything looking blurry as my eyes adjusted.

Once everything came into clear focus I sat up, only this time I felt no pain. I looked down at myself and found that the bandages covering my chest had been removed, the same with the bandages on my head.

"So you're finally awake?"

My head twisted to the side at the sound of that voice. And there I saw him sitting at the table, drinking tea out of the cup... Ly.

He put the cup on the saucer and placed both of them on the table, he looked at me without moving his head. "Then do you want a second chance?"

My heart started beating several times faster at the sight of his eyes and I began sweating bullets. Fear was growing inside of me insanely quickly, my breath drawing quicker and quicker as his eyes were piercing into me.

We're starting!" The table and tea disappeared as he stood and drew away from them.

I didn't speak nor move, I just remained in bed, frozen over in fear.

He glanced back at me, his eyes still as cold as ever. "Did you not hear me? I said get up!"

* * *

Corpus slowly moved his body under the sheets, before cautiously moving his lower body out into the open and landing his hooves on the floor.

_(He seems to have healed pretty well, now for Step 3 to start...)_

"Hurry, we don't have all day." I walked out further into the white expanse, Corpus following me from a fair few meters away. The rest of the furnishing in the area we were just occupying had vanished, leaving nothing behind. I stopped and turned to Corpus. "Do you know why you lost last time?"

He didn't respond for a few seconds, but when he did it was a simple head shake.

"You lost because you were stupid! You weren't attacking, you were only running in to die!"

He took what I said to heart, his body and ears falling down and his gaze withdrawing.

"If you want to win, you have to fight properly. Don't allow blind rage to control you or your actions, always think things out before doing them. If you don't, then you'll never beat me. Now," I ran at him, my arm brought back for a punch, "Fight me like you said you would!"

* * *

Ly ran at me, about to hit me again. I did the only thing that came into my head, teleport. My horn and body glowed with a fascinating orange light and I disappeared, re-appearing a few feet away from where Ly had started.

"Good, you're beginning to learn. But the only question is," He began to run at me again, and so I teleported a second time. Only I didn't see him, instead I heard footsteps quickly approaching me from behind. I turned and got punched in the face, sending me flying a few feet. "How quickly will you learn?"

I sat up and saw him stood above me. Panicking, I teleported again and ended a fair distance from him. _C-crap, this is getting worse and worse! How do I beat him? He doesn't show any mercy, and I'm still weakened from earlier!_

"You'll never kill me just by running. So how many times will I have to repeat this? Fight seriously!" He dashed at me again.

I stood my ground, determined to win this fight. "Fine, I will! Just watch!" As he got close, he prepared another punch. Only to be stopped in his tracks by my levitation magic, which I used to fling him away again like earlier. But, like earlier, he easily regained balance and shook off the force without a problem.

"You're beginning to use a bit of tactics, but this level won't help you in the slightest!" He stood still and remained there, unmoving like a rock.

_What is he doing? He can't beat me without doing anything... So why is he just standing there? O-of course! If I approach, then he'll just beat me up again! And if I stay here... then I can't win... He's forcing me to act!_

Ly noticed the change in expression on my face, seeing as he made the following comment. "Good, it seems that you realize that I can stand here and still win. If you wait, you'll simply run out of time. And if you approach, I'll simply beat you down."

_I thought so, that's what he's planning on doing._

"So what will you do? You can't approach, and you can't do nothing. I've got you in check, now what will you do to free yourself?"

_Come one Corpus! Think! Isn't there anything that you can do? This situation's come up before and you've overcome it! But where? Where did I first encounter this type of battle? _I stood motionless, lost in deep thought as I knew that Ly wouldn't attack me. _...Of course! Training with Twilight! She stood still and still managed to beat me for a while, and her secret was projectiles!_

* * *

_(Hmm... his expression changed again. He must have realized something. With this, Step 3 will be complete. But I'd better check first.)_

"What's taking so long? Hurry up already!"

He smirked and nodded, "Alright then. How do you like this!?" His horn began to glow a magnificent orange, before a magical discharge shot from the tip of his horn, and straight towards me.

"Hmph! Easy." I leant backwards, allowing the ball to go ov- what!?

Suddenly, a shock of pain struck me in the stomach. I shot back a couple of feet and saw a small burn on my shirt, his attack had hit me.

_(...I see... He fired the attack as a ruse, so when I went to dodge it he teleported it to my stomach. That way he could ensure a hit on me. So now Step 3 is complete, and now for Step 4...)_

"I've gotta hand it to you, that was a nice little bit of strategy there. But that's the only time that it'll work on me!" I started to run at him, leaving myself wide open for attacks.

* * *

_Yes! My chance to do some more damage!_

I fired another magical blast at him, he jumped out of the way of it.

_Perfect!_

I teleported myself next to him, my horn primed to stab him. But he used his other foot on the floor to change his direction, avoiding my attack completely and leaving me wide open instead.

* * *

"I told you," I grabbed him by his face again, lifting him into the air. "That trick won't work on me again!" I punched him in the stomach and twisted my fist, his flesh moving in the same rotating pattern and causing him even more pain as he span by a good 180 degrees before landing.

He shakily tried to bring himself back up, only to fall down afterwards. I had sent his body into a state of slight temporary shock preventing him from moving, but not from listening.

_(Step 4, complete.)_

I turned away from him, not wanting him in my sights. "You're getting smarter, Corpus. But you're still weak! And you've failed your second chance at defeating me. That makes two victories to nil..." I begin to walk away, leaving him unconscious yet again. "Have fun living, you're going to be doing plenty of it after all." I disappeared from that world, coming back into the real world to continue my business.

* * *

_Guh...! D-damnit! *sniff* Why...? Why am I so weak!? WHYYY!?_

I lamented in my sorrow for a while, crying and feeling inferior to everything. Tears streaming down my face as I was so helpless, so useless! ...After a while spent crying, my vision slowly began to fade, and I lost consciousness for good, laying on the floor without moving...

* * *

**So how was my first fighting Chapter? I think that it went decently well. :)**

**But that's for you to decide! So review on the good, the bad and the myeh!**

**Bye bi!**


	17. Chapter 17: Sub-consciousness II

**Author's note:**

**Whoo! I have an update this time!**

**I went back to work on the profile picture earlier and got quite a bit done... well, an ear and half a mane... but it's still something :D **

**I'll do a bit of work on it every now and then, should (very hopefully) have it done in a few weeks... maybe... :P**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. In this Chapter, they are his sub-consciousness' own thoughts. No-one, including Corpus, can hear them.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Corpus' inner world, unprecedented length of time later..._

_...Feeling, is returning to me..._

I moved very slightly, some sensation beginning to come to my legs. I shifted them underneath my person and put all the strength I could muster into them, lifting myself up off the ground. I began to bring my head up, looking ahead of myself, dazed. A sudden shock of pain rippling through my stomach caused me to keel over, losing my balance and falling again.

"H-he's right... I'm, weak..." Some tears began to well up in my eyes, some coming from pain and the rest coming from sadness. "I'm completely useless... h-he... won't even t-take the time to look at me...! I'm stuck here all alone forever!"

I continued to cry, constantly wiping away my tears with my hooves as I entered a state of depression.

"I want to get stronger... I want help defeating him..." As I wiped away the proof of my sadness, a large white light engulfed everything, blinding me. I slowly open my eyes, a large blue smudge clouding my vision from my damaged retinas. As the smudge cleared I could see what had appeared. In front of me was... an open room... with...a desk?

"W-what the...?" I statically got up, slowly making my way over on my aching legs. I stopped in front of it and took a look across its surface, seeing a single white note and several yellow and a few purple notes strewn along it. "These are... notes...? About what...?" My horn glows and the white piece of paper with slightly messy handwriting scrawled on it floats up to my face, allowing me to read its contents. Barely able to read it, I speak its message aloud:

_This is a secret document, only for your eyes only... myself._

"Wait, I wrote these!? Well... this is my sub-consciousness world, so it'd be weird if it wasn't mine. But still, did I know I'd be in this mess? Before my memory went... missing..." Something clicked in my head, something I had completely forgotten about. "These might be my memories! I'll know who I am!" My tears had changed. Instead of leaking sadness and despair, they were born from optimism and joy. I fervently began reading again:

_Written across these messages is information, information which only you possess.  
Everything you are about to read are your memories, things recorded in your eternal data archives which can never be lost,  
even to trauma._

My eyes began to glisten, overjoyed that I now had my memories laid in front of me, ready for me to read and remember.

_This is because these memories are almost completely separate from those stored in your brain. So the only reason as  
to why you would be reading this would be if you had lost your memories, because these will only become known to you when you need to  
know that not everything is forgotten._

_What a mouthful..._

_These memories, are stored in your body. I'm very sorry to say that they won't tell you who you are or anything about yourself-_

"What...!?" I lowered the paper, feeling my happiness slowly slip away again. "So this won't tell me who I am...? Then why did these appear!? They're useless, they're not going to help me at all!" I held the other notes in my magic and blasted them off the desk, sending them flying all over the place. I sat on my rear, my ears flopped and I gazed down at the ground, feeling like I had lost my only lead. I could feel my eyes slowly becoming empty, losing all hope I once had. I was going to be trapped here forever. Ly wasn't coming back, I wouldn't get another chance at escaping, and the only thing I had left to do was read those infernal messages which would do nothing but remind me of what I've lost. The small piece of red paper drifted down through the air and landed at my hooves. It angered me, how they wouldn't stay away. I glared at it and lifted my hoof and brought it down as hard as I could, but promptly stopped its motion at the sight of the final words inscribed on it.

_...-ays._

_-Ly_

I quickly scooped it up with my hooves and stared at it intensely, reading every last word on the parchment.

_Corpus,_

_I hope that you'll read this letter, for it will aid you in your escape.  
You're currently reading this for one reason and one reason only: You're too weak! You will never escape from here if you don't become  
stronger. I don't care about you in the slightest, but I do enjoy playing with you. I enjoy our meaningless fights and how you fear me, how you want to  
escape without coming face to face with me. But that's impossible. Only I decide how and when you get out of here, and you'll never escape unless you prove yourself stronger than me. And so, I've decided to humour myself. These notes are all of the information your body has stored. Naturally, they're  
recorded by your current body, seeing as how your human one doesn't exist anymore. The information is everything your body has learnt, sensations,  
movements, taste and everything related. These notes will teach you how to use your body effectively.  
Read through them all and learn how to move, how to fight, how to get stronger. I am giving you one final chance, I will come back  
to fight you once again in three days._

_-Ly_

"...I don't believe it..." I set the paper down, my body shivering. "H-he's really doing this... It pisses me off!" I threw the paper away, standing up abruptly as I did. "What the hell does he mean!? He enjoys my fear!? He wants to humour himself!? Fine!" I gather all of the notes with my magic, placing all of them onto the table in a messy fashion before organising them into a yellow pile and a very small purple pile, "I'll read these and learn. Then when he returns, I'll beat the living hell out of him! I'll force him to send me back! I'm not a source of his amusement, and I'll show that to him. I'll learn everything about how my body works, how each movement affects me. And I'll beat him. I'll become strong enough to finally reach the outside world!" I picked up the first piece of yellow paper, bringing to eye level, "Just you wait, Ly!"

Corpus began to focus on the notes left by Ly, determined to learn every last bit of detail written on them so he could best him.

Meanwhile, Ly was stood behind the wall to the room, smirking. "Heh... Step 5, initiated..." He faded from the world, leaving no trace of his previous presence.

* * *

Several hours had gone by since I had started reading the notes and I was nearing the mid-way point between them.

I placed the note I was reading back onto the desk and yawned, carefully stretching myself out a little as to not cause any pain or harm to myself. "Aauuh... There's too much to read. And I haven't really learnt much, all this is telling me is all of the experiences my body has had since I arrived here. And I'm not even sure if all of this is correct." I brought up a piece of paper that was laying on top of a small pile, "I don't remember having anyone laying against my back and having their face in my mane for a few hours before kicking me, maybe this was carried over from somewhere else? Mngg, I don't know..." I rubbed the back of my head, trying to wrap my head around it. "Forget it, this isn't too important anyway." I flung the paper away. "But I'm certain that just about every physical experience I've had so far was written on those earlier notes, so why am I only half way through? What do the others have on them?" I levitated a purple note to my face, reading the words scribbled onto it. I noticed it instantly. The main difference between the two notes were that the yellow ones had only information, detailing almost uselessly about my body's experiences. But the Purple ones, they had diagrams on them. They served a different purpose than the earlier notes, these ones taught me techniques and high-lighted key information about the yellow ones. I began reading the first Purple note:

_Dear myself,_

_Theses notes are much, much different from the ones you have just read. These will aid you in ways which you wouldn't have thought  
imaginable. On them I have drawn several diagrams and methods which will help you utilise the data given to you in the earlier  
notes, allowing you to reach your body's current maximum potential. For example, on this note is a diagram of you teleporting. Now notice the  
information high-lighted underneath it._

I looked at the high-lighted text under the diagram, it read: _"Horn charge time = 1.07 seconds" "Teleportation initiation time = 0.98 seconds" "Overall time = 2.05 seconds"_

"Yeah, I remember reading this earlier. It kinda made me happy, knowing that I could use spells that quickly." A smile smoothed itself along my face.

_As you can tell, this is extremely slow._

And thus my smile and my heart sank... I called myself slow... Am I really this straight forward?

_But. This is what's unique about these. The diagram's will change according to ideas you have, always switching to the greatest  
one and noting down the necessary information required to implement it. And they'll update themselves to match the current data held  
by your body, allowing you to track your progress as you improve. On the reverse of these notes are ways in which you can train the various statistics of  
your body. Whether it's spell initiation speed or horn charge time, methods in training will appear as they become apparent to you.  
This is why they are called the "Train Notes". With these you can work on ideas  
for any way you think you could improve your physical aspect by, as well as watch your self growth as you try these new ideas.  
Also an important point to note, with a new strength, new techniques will become available to you. Use this knowledge along with these  
notes to grow stronger._

_With complete and total trust,_

_-..._

"Huh? There's no name attached to this." I spun the note around and held it upside down, investigating it at every angle possible. I returned it to its ''Neutral' position, and raised an eyebrow at it. "Maybe it's because I can't remember my name? ...Probably is, thinking about it. Anyway," I turned the note until I could see its reverse side, "I should be able to use this quite effectively." I closely examined the text and picture on the back.

_Teleportation speed: Ways to improve this statistic:_

_1. Coat and compress the object with your magic as fast as you can._

"...Hmm... So there's only one way to get better? And the diagram doesn't help too much either. It just shows a pony teleporting from one spot to another." I move the paper away from my face so I can see beyond it. "Well, better get to practising."

I stepped out of the room and stood in the open expanse a few metres from the entrance. I don't won't too stray far from it, I may never find it again otherwise... Once happy with my free area, I looked back at the paper.

"Okay, so my horn charge time is at 1.07 seconds. Then that'll be the first part that I'll work on." I read though the back of the paper again, checking for any information I may have missed. After reading through it and confirming that I knew all the necessary information, I put it down on the ground and got ready to practise. "Right, so I just have to improve the time in which it takes me to summon up the necessary power to begin to teleport." I crouch downwards slightly, holding my head at a gradient so my horn almost faces the horizon flat-out. "This should be relatively easy." I tensed, bringing out power as fast as I could to my horn. It began glowing orange, then I released the power and took a look back at the sheet. "Horn Charge time = 1.06 seconds? Yes! It improved!" I jumped and hoof pumped the air, landing back on all fours afterwards. "If I keep this up, then I'll be done in no time!" I returned to my former position, once again tensing and bringing out my power before letting it fade away. I bounced eagerly over to the paper on the floor and gazed upon its text with glistening eyes. 1.03 seconds. "YES! That's even better than last time!" I jumped up and double hoof-pumped the air, adrenaline filling my body at my successes. I bounced back over to where I previously was. "Hehe, I feel like I'm running on Pinkie Pie energy! This buzz is too great!" A huge smile was beaming itself on my face.

Yet again, I primed myself for charging my energy. Tensing my body, bringing out power, letting it fade. I repeated this process for far over an hour without rest. Well, I think it was over an hour. Maybe two hours? There's no way of telling time here so I'm going by how long it feels like, probably not the most reliable way of recognising the time. Regardless, I walked back over to the paper for the umpteenth time, checking its data once again whilst breathing heavily. "Horn Charge time 0.86 seconds... it's only improved by point zero one..." I laid on my back, feeling exhausted. "Ha... haa... I've used too much energy, I'm going too hard on myself on this. I'll get better results if I rest first, then I'll go back to training." I roll onto my side, the room coming into view as I did. I began to peacefully close my eyes, watching a red piece of paper float down in front of me... wait, what!? I sat up abruptly, catching the paper with my hooves. "Since when was there another red piece of paper?" I looked back over to the room, then to my hooves. "This isn't the same piece... I wonder where it came from." My eyes drifted down it and saw it was blank, no image, no text, nothing. "And why is it blank? This is hardly helpful if it provides me with no information whatsoever." I pick it up with my magic and turn it around, seeing some text written in a smallish font. "O-oh... there is writing... my bad." I closed in my vision on the words, reading them aloud:

_Dear my beloved toy Corpus,_

My eye twitched, realising who this was from made me feel really uneasy. But not paying mind to this, my brain and mouth went on to read the rest without my consent,

_There was a little bit of information which I forgot to give you. You see, because this is your inner world, you are able to  
create whatever you want in here. Whether it be weaponry or clothing, it's your choice whether they exist here or not. Use this in your training  
as well. I want at least some level of a challenge when I beat you into the dust again._

_Your's truly,_

_-Ly_

"I hate him. I truly hate him. Not for holding out information, but purely because he's such a dick!" I throw the paper to the floor and raise my head, "You hear that Ly? I hate you! When these three days are over I'll beat you silly, I'll force you to let me out of here! You hear me!? I'll grow stronger than you! Stronger than you'll ever become, and then I'll show you what it's like from the other end!" I finished with my nostrils blowing out steam, before turning face and quickly walking away from the paper. "I'll practise. I'll practise and practise this until my time is under point seven. Then I'll take a quick rest." I look over to the red message, turning my head back shortly afterwards. I closed my eyes and went into thought. Contorting my face slightly, I began focusing on an image in my head. Soon a bright white light engulfed the area around me, I opened my eyes and saw a clock sitting on the ground, ticking. "Good," I picked it up with my horn and twisted a small knob on its back, I then placed it a few metres from myself. "This'll help me keep track of time while I train." I tensed my body for the hundredth time, magic quickly surging into my horn and giving it a great orange radiating aura.

I continued on for another few hours, before laying down exhausted. I brought the clock over to me and twisted the knob on its back again. "For three, good." I placed the clock on the ground again and closed my eyes. "This'll give me a good -auugh...- six hours of sleep. Then I'll... work on... spell speed..." My thoughts slowed and my consciousness left as I rolled onto my side, drifting off into a deep slumber...

* * *

**Dum duuum! Here it is!**

**I really enjoyed writing this Chapter, I don't know why but it just felt right XD**

**Umm... huh... nothing to talk about...**

**Review on the good, the bad and the myeh! And of you have any criticism please let me know, I'm beginning to feel that some chapters are rather shoddy :/**

**Bye bi!**


	18. Chapter 18: Sub-consciousness III

**Author's note:**

**Blech, still have the taste of maths stuck in my mouth D: Horrible education...**

**Sorry about the unexplained hold up with the Chapters, had too many exams which I needed to revise for. I promise that I'll warn you for future occurences :D**

**Anyway, Picture progression. I have (Pain stakingly) finished an eye and a piece of the face. As fun as making it is, it's reaaaaaally tedious when doing smaller details to make sure everything else works. Welp, as I said yesterday, it should be finished in a few weeks! :)**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus'/Ly's normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**Corpus' inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**Ly's inner thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to Corpus' inner thoughts but not entirely the same. In this Chapter, they are heard only by himself.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Fluttershy's Cottage, **08:00 A.M...**_

**Thumpthumpthumpthump, thumpthumpthumpthump... THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP**

_(Uggh... not again...) _

I sat up, knocking a familiar rodent off of my chest. I yawned out the first thing that came to my head, again... "Good morning Fluttershy." I rubbed the back of my mane and brought my chest up, stretching out my back.

"G-good morning." Again, the same voice calling out from the doorway in the same manner as she has done for the last few days. And I bet I know what she's going to say next...

"I'm very sorry Angel woke you up again..."

_(I'm very sorry Angel woke you up again... Yup, called it.)_

"Don't worry about it, I've gotten used to it now." I, again, climb out of bed and walk towards the door, Fluttershy minding out of the way as I place a smile on my face.

_(I'm quickly beginning to dislike this... everyday it's the exact same thing with the exact same people, nothing ever changes. This is only the third day since I took over and I already want it to end, this boredom is driving me up the walls.)_

I walk down the stairs and begin to pour out some Oatibix. Of course, Fluttershy's already eaten. She was up about half an hour before me after all, so it'd be slightly odd if she hadn't.

"U-umm, would it be okay if you could, umm... allow me to have some after you?"

I turned my head, and became surprised to see the Yellow mare stood next to me.

"Haven't you already had breakfast? You always have it whilst I'm still asleep."

She shuffled a bit, looking awkwardly at the floor and around the room before glimpsing at me briefly. "W-well, I thought that it'd be nice if we could eat breakfast together... Because, today's your last day, and all..." Her nervous voice never changes, not even in the slightest way imaginable.

I put on a smile, levitating the box over to her. "Sounds good, I'll wait for you to finish pouring your's out before starting." She simply responded with a slightly grateful nod.

_(What do you know? Today is already turning out slightly differently than what I expected. If I'm lucky, maybe something else will deter from this boring lifestyle today...)_

Fluttershy put away the cereal box and quickly glanced at me. I nodded and we both began to eat our breakfast.

* * *

_Corpus' inner world, unknown time..._

*Beepbeepbeep! Beepbeepbeep! Beepbeepbee-bwoh...*

"Shu-uuaaahh...-sh..." I sit myself up, yawning and stretching. I sleepily take in my surroundings, remembering where I was. "Right..." I grunt a little as I bring my dormant body to it's feet... hooves... yeah, hooves.

After stretching out my legs and waking myself up fully, I turn to the purple piece of paper I had left beside me before falling asleep. Picking it up with my magic, I read out its contents. Horn Charge time = 0.53 seconds. A smirk grew on my face at the number, I managed to improve so much in such a small period of time and I still had just over two days left.

"Okay, so now I move on to teleportation speed. My teleportation currently takes 0.98 seconds to use, so I'll aim to trim it down to around 0.7." I scan my eyes further down the Train Note, taking in the information listed on its surface. Once I reach the bottom I set the note back down onto the ground. "Right, this should be easy. All I need to do is increase the rate at which I cover and compress an object, so I'll just bring in some objects and practise on those."

I close my eyes and focus on a wish, a white flash soon appearing and granting it. A mountain of around a thousand or so teddy bears materialised in front of me.

"...Wha-... I didn't want these. I... I kinda asked for pony-sized objects, y'know... better for practising for something my size...?

_**WELL THAT'S ALL YOU'RE GETTING!**_

I jumped and looked around surprised, startled by the loud boom. "W-who was that!? Ly!?"

**_UH OH... UMM... YOU DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING... I AM NOT HERE... _**

I shrank down, slightly creeped out from the unnatural voice in my inner world...

"I-I kinda did. Hard to not hear your voice in my... inner...world? Wait, why the hell are you here!? This is my world!" I look up and around, perturbed by the whereabouts of this weirdo.

_**...THAT IS NOT IMPORTANT. WHAT IS IMPORTANT, HOWEVER, IS THAT YOU ARE ETERNALLY BOUND TO TEDDY BEARS.**_

I frowned, quickly falling unimpressed. "Teddy bears, really? Not only do you come out of nowhere and inexplicably start talking to me inside of my sub-consciousness, but then you tell me that I am magically bound to teddy bears?"

_**...YES...**_

"And you expect me to believe you...?"

_**WHAT, THE LOUD BOOMING GOD-LIKE VOICE NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU?**_

My mouth fell in sheer disappointment. "No! It's not enough! Why the hell would you talking to me in a loud voice make me feel any more sure that my life is going to revolve around teddy bears!?"

_**I NEVER SAID 'REVOLVE AROUND'. SIMPLY THAT YOUR TWO ENTITIES ARE BOUND BY THE STRING OF FATE, AND THAT THERE WILL BE A TIME WHEN-**_

"STOP! NOW!" My nerves are beginning to break, "I am NOT going to be damned by teddy bears of all things! Now get out of my head and leave me to train!"

_** ...BE IT AS IT MAY. BUT THE GEARS OF FATE HAVE BEGUN TO SPIN, AND,AS THEY DO, THE FATE OF YOU AND THESE CUDDLY LITTLE CREATURES SHALL BE FOREVER INTERTWINED! YOU, ARE THE ONE CHOSEN TO LEAD! AND THESE SOFT TOYS SHALL BE YOUR OFFICERS! TOGETHER, YOU SHALL SAVE THE WORLD FROM DIRE MATTERS!**_

...Just...why...? "...You done?"

**_...YES. HAVE A GOOD AFTERNOON._**

"It's morning." I don't care if he can't see my face, I'm still looking at 'him' like I want to kill him...

_**WHATE~VER YOU SAY... weirdo...**_

"I can hear you!"

**_O-OH! UMM... THIS IS NOT THE ENTITY YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. MOVE ALONG._**

I placed a hoof over my face, "Oh for fuc- GO!" I pointed my hoof over to a random direction.

_**F-FINE! *SNIFF* YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO YELL...**_

...I stood there, pricking out my ears and listening for sound. After a few seconds I turned back to the bears and sighed. "Guess I better get started. I'm not going to get stronger by being annoyed by that idiot..."

_**H-HEY! THAT'S MEAN! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!**_

"OKAY, NO MORE!"

*Beep, beep, beep* "Your call has been ended... Your call has been ended..."

"Thank God for the 'hang up' button... Now..."

I brought a few bears over to myself, readying to train.

_**WHY DID YOU HANG UP ON M-**_

*'Booming God Voice' removed from friends list. Would you like to report them?*

*...No.*

*Closing calling client, goodbye.*

Undisturbed, I began training. One of the bears became coated in an orange veil and shortly disappeared, coming back a few metres away from its previous point. I grabbed another bear and repeated the process, finding it far too easy to teleport them. After I began on the third, I picked up the note again to briefly check my progress.

"Hmm... still 0.98? But I'm teleporting these much faster than that! It's not even taking me a fifth of a second!" I scanned through it again, maybe I missed something the first two times I read it. "'Teleportation speed = 0.98 seconds.' That's all it says. So why isn't it decreasing?"

As I pondered on how to combat this small setback the note glowed a majestic magenta, the writing disappearing and reappearing within seconds. I picked it back up and took another look at it. None of the text had changed, save for one small piece under a diagram. "Oh, so it says 'Self' teleportation now. And it's at 0.98 seconds... Then what was the point in all of these bears being here!? They serve NO purpose! Like SO MUCH in this weird place! Like YOU!" I bring my hooves to my face, "YOU have no real purpose! All you do is make a 'clopping' sound (Lewd thoughts enabled :3) whenever you connect with the ground! You don't do anything else! Oh, wait. You GRAB stuff! But how!? How the royal bloody hell does everypony else manage to pick stuff up with their hooves, but you two CAN'T!? What is WRONG with you two!?" I leave myself panting for breath, my pent up rant taking a lot more out of me than I thought it could. "And YOUUUU!" I turn my head after catching my breath, "You teddies are NOT going to be bound to me! Never!" I walk up to them and stare one of them in the face, "You hear me soldier!? You are not mine!" I breathed through my nose heavily, my chest puffing up and out with every intake of breath I took, falling back down as I breathed out. My rage slowly subsided as I stepped backwards, keeping eye contact with the Teddy. "Now," My horn began glowing and soon my orange aura had enveloped the entirety of the teddy pile, "Dismissed!" The pile disappeared in a flash, ending up somewhere in my minds vast wasteland.

I let out a tired breath and look at the paper again, "Looks like I'll have to practise on myself after all. I'll start up slow and," My horn glowed and I was quickly covered in magic, disappearing and reappearing in the moments after, "Begin to make my way to 0.6 seconds as I go."

I continued to teleport, vanishing and appearing constantly for a couple of minutes, slowly picking up speed as I did so. Flash after flash, the area was constantly lit in an orange light until my energy began to wear down a bit. Ceasing teleportation, I walk back to my starting point and pick up the paper, my breathing heavier than normal as I ran my eyes down its contents.

"Still 0.98? Aww... damn it... I thought that it'd decrease at least a little bit. Well, I suppose that spells are harder to improve upon than just summoning up magic... Regardless," I open my wing and place the note under it, closing my wing back up to ensure that it stayed put. "If I train more then I'll get faster! Here we go!"

I begin trying to improve my speed again, determination burning behind my eyes as I brought my magic forth. I train intensely for another period, never stopping for a break in the meantime...

* * *

_Real World, Fluttershy's cottage, **08:14 A.M**..._

I place the used bowl in the sink, expecting to wash it up myself before Fluttershy intervenes and completes the task herself, she then turns to me and looks surprised.

"O-oh, s-sorry. I forgot that you were here for a moment and did what you were about to for you..." Her eyes glanced away from me as she brought her head back a few inches. I honestly don't know whether this is cute or annoying, it puts a warm feeling in my chest every time and makes me giggle a little inside, but it also seems tedious that her nature is so... separated, from everything else.

"Don't worry about it, you saved me the trouble of doing it myself after all." I gave her a warm smile, but this one didn't feel as fake as the previous ones. Guess I'm a little happy that another break in the loop happened.

She didn't look back at me, but she did smile. She lowered her head a little and her mane fell over the portion of her face that I could see, I moved over a little to try and glance at her. Pink. Her cheeks are glowing a faint bright pink.

_(Did I really something that flirtatious? No, I couldn't have, she wasn't angry after that incident with Corpus so her mind might still be rather innocent. Then... why is she blushing?)_

"T-thank you. You're always making me feel better." She lifted her head and looked at me, the pink gone from her cheeks. Maybe it was just her hair being reflected on her face? Hmm... that seems unlikely... "So I'm glad to have a friend like you." She smiled really innocently. Okay, now _that's _cute.

"W-well, I'm just doing what friends do." _(Crap, I'm getting a little flustered.)_

She shook her head, is she disagreeing with me!? This shy little creature!? "But it's _because_ you're doing what a friend does that makes me so grateful. I'm very lucky to have you as a friend. Even though I annoy you sometimes with my timidness,"

_(S-she noticed...?)_

"You still always treat me kindly and tolerate it. That's why I'm sure that you'll make plenty of friends here without any problems." Her smile grew kinder, closing her eyes also gave it quite a good effect.

"M-making friends? I... don't really recall talking about it..." _(She was spot on about the annoying thing, but friend-making? It's never been high on my priority list.)_

She opened her eyes and inclined her head inwards, towards me slightly. Her smile fading and her timid look coming back, glancing at me with one big eye through the gap in her mane. "W-well, I thought that you were worried about making friends a little." She glanced away again, "At Pinkie's party you were sorta stood there on your own, until Pinkie and Rainbow Dash urged you to come over." Her gaze was placed back on me, "And you were a little...quiet on the way here as well."

_(But don't you think that was also partially due to your own silence...?)_

"I know that my shyness probably made things even worse as well."

_(...You know what? I'm going to let her finish. Every time I interject a thought questioning her, it always gets answered literally a few seconds later...)_

"But you also seem a little... um, you don't mind me saying, umm..."

I raised am eyebrow, "Shy?"

"Y-yes... if you don't mind being called that, that is..."

I couldn't help but chuckle a little, I held it all in but it still made my body twitch very slightly, "As I said, don't worry. It's the truth after all."

"This is what I mean... when I say that you're kind, I mean. You never shout at me or show that you're annoyed unless I'm in the wrong..." Her gaze fell a bit, now looking at the ground.

_(Haaa... she's talking about that again... She still thinks that she was wrong?)_

"You weren't in the wrong." I place a hoof on heer head... this action seems somewhat familiar... "I was. Like I said the other day, I should never have shouted at you."

She looked up and met my sincere look with her eyes, smiling a little when she saw it. "I know you said that but," She looked to the side a little, "I really shouldn't have tried to force you to tell me what was wrong."

Well, the only way this is going to get resolved is to give in a little. "Yeah, you shouldn't have done that." She looked up at me, looking a bit shocked, "But that still doesn't justify what I did! I was far more into the wrong than you were, so I'm the only one who should be yelled at, not you."

Her shocked expression slowly turned into a smile. "Okay, if that's how you feel the I won't challenge it anymore."

_(You know, she's a lot better at reading people than I thought.)_

"Oh! We have to go and wake up the animals! It's already half eight." She galloped out of the kitchen and through the door, not waiting for me.

"Heh... today is quite different from the past few, I may even enjoy it." I follow at me own pace, a small smile planted on my face.

* * *

_Corpus' inner world, unknown time..._

"Hah... hah... haah..." I sat down, intensely tired out from a few hours of almost non-stop training. My wing weakly opened and the note fell out, I moved it in front of myself with my hoof and looked at it. "Self teleportation... 0.7 seconds... Damn... not as quick as... I want it to be..." I lie down, the note being held under my belly as I did do. "I need a quicker way... Maybe... will teleporting as soon as the veil is on do it? If I try... and do it as soon as I think it's done... maybe that'll increase the speed a little. I probably waste a little time making sure that it's completed anyway." Okay I'll try it soon. First, I want to rest." I lowered my head onto my fore-legs and closed my eyes. I swear, I'm only resting them! Nothing... els-...

* * *

_Corpus' inner world, unknown time..._

I slowly open my eyes, yawning as my brain went back to it's fully aware state. "Auughh... How long did I sleep for? Probably a few minutes, nothing more." I brought the clock over to myself and took a look at the time, my eyes shot wide, wide open. "WHAT!? SEVEN HOURS!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" I jumped up and brought the note under my wing again, clamping down my wing and running towards the desk. I place my hooves on it's surface and look around at the notes. "Come on, there's gotta be something else for me to work on too!" I lift all of the purple notes and look at all of them, my face falling at the sight. "What...? THEY'RE ALL BLANK! No, no, no, no! I've wasted too much time already! I need to train! Wait... there might be something on the other side!" I flip them over, the reverse of all of them being blank. Except for one. Flustered, I bring that one over to me and look at its contents and read them aloud. "Magic orb firing speed = 0.74 seconds. Magic orb travel speed = 1.5 m/s. This is it? I don't even know how I used this attack! Arrgh!" I angrily place the note under my other wing and look at the other purple notes again. Sifting my eyes through each of them, looking for any text whatsoever. After a minute or so, they all began to glow a very bright magenta. The brightness hurt my eyes and so I closed them and turned my head... The glowing stopped and I slowly looked back, only to see that all of the notes had disappeared.

"W-what!? No! Why did they all... disappear?" I quickly unfolded my wings, hoping that the two with information on them hadn't also disappeared. I looked at my sides, seeing the two Train Notes fall to the ground, still with their information on them. "Oh thank goodness, you're still here..." I sat down, a heart attack narrowly averted. "But why did the others go? Was it because they had nothing on them? ...I dunno, but," I picked up the notes and placed them under my wings, "I better get back to training. I've only got a day and a few hours left, after all." I ready myself and summon power to my horn quickly, "Let's try that new tactic." I coated myself in my magic as quickly as I could and collapsed it as soon as I thought that it had covered my body, reappearing but a few metres away. I open my left wing and bring the note to my face, reading it again. "Yes! It's at 0.46 seconds!" I jumped up, unbearingly excited. "If I keep this up, then I'll be faster than Ly in no time!" I crouch back down a bit and try it again, successfully teleporting time and time again. And with each successful go I became more adjusted to using it, I stopped after another half hour, just to check up on my progress. "...YES! Aha! Point 57!" I jumped onto two legs and started a strange deformed dance... Hey, it's because I'm in a pony body that I can't dance properly! ...Yes... I'll blame that...

After my short jitter, I set myself back down and begin again. Coating my self in magic and compressing it, but stopping almost immediately as a sharp pain shot though my rear. I lifted my magic and saw a large mark run across from my dock to the bottom of my thighs. I had collapsed my magic before coating my entire body, almost resulting in me splitting myself into two. I started shaking, afraid of what just happened. "N-no way... I... almost killed myself... T-there's no way I'd be able t-to stop myself from bleeding if that happened. If I stop even half a second later..." I gulped rather loudly, bullets of sweat dropping down my head, "I don't want to think about it!" I shook the image from my head, looking forwards again and trying to calm my nerves. "Okay... there's got to be a less hazardous way of going through with it without losing speed. But what? Hmm..." I stood there, pondering. I remained almost motionless for a few minutes, letting out the occasional moan from the lack of ideas. "...Come on Corpus, think!" I hit my head with my hoof, somehow knocking an idea into my head. "Ah! Maybe... if I try teleporting w-!" I got cut off by a bright light, I guarded my eyes from it and looked away. "What the hell? What is it now!?" I turned my head and slowly opened my eyes, squinting through the gaps between my lids to try and see. The purple light not allowing my vision to reach within it. Suddenly, the light vanished, leaving two small objects floating in the space of which it occupied.

The items slowly span around, gradually descending to the ground still glowing a bright magenta. I neared them, able to look directly at them since the main source of light had disappeared. As I drew close to them they stopped falling, staying at eye level as the light on them slowly began to fade. I then realised what they were, Train Notes! I grabbed them, looking at their appearing contents. "...No way. You mean it'll actually work? And I can track my progress!?" A crazy smile grew on my face as brought my head up and shouted at the top of my lungs. "YES! TAKE THAT LY! NOW I HAVE TECHNIQUE WHICH YOU CAN'T MATCH!" I lowered my head, looking at the parchments. "Alright, I've got to start training right away!" I brought power to my horn and teleported to a space a few dozen metres away, leaving the two notes on the ground. One of them having a diagram of a magic coated pony with text reading:

_Magic hold time = 5 minutes._

* * *

_Real World, Fluttershy's yard **12:46 P.M...**_

"Phew." I sat down, finally finishing most of the jobs I'd been set. "How do you manage this every day? Even in four days I'm still not used to it.

"Well for me, it's mostly because I enjoy doing it." A smile bloomed on her face, "I guess that I have too much fun to notice the fatigue."

_(That's kinda understandable. But)_ I look over at the hundred of cleaned nests and homes. _(She should be at least a little tired after all of this!) _"So do you do this every few days? Y'know, cleaning and helping fix up all of the animals' homes?"

"Hm? On no, only every two weeks. They do a good job of keeping them tidy themselves, but I need to help out shortly after the Pegasi schedule a gust of wind to blow away all of the fall leaves. It's only the right thing to do for them, after all, all of the leaves and branches just get stuck in their homes and bother them."

"Oh okay, that makes sense. Wait, so what's happening with the weather now? Aren't the Pegasi on 'High Alert'?"

"The weather still needs to be maintained, so there are Pegasi that go out to make sure that it doesn't stray off course. Besides, there shouldn't be any risk to them. After all, the criminal isn't a Pegasus so he can't hurt them whilst they're up there."

"Guess that's true." I gaze over to the rest of the nests needing cleaning... another few hundred... "I'll get back to work, don't want to be out until night time do we?"

"Well, I'm usually out until night time when I do it myself. So I'm awfully grateful that you decided to help me out." She gave me another smile as I walked away.

I turn my head back to her, "No problem, it's what friends do." She nods and I return to my work. _(Up until night time? And not even fatigued from it!? What the hell is she made of!? ...No wonder the government gave her that mark...)_

I progress on with my work, clearing out a few more holes and nests before something caught my eye. I turn my head slightly, seeing a shadow move around a few dozen metres away. I look back at Fluttershy and back at the shadow. _(Hmm, I don't think she'll mind me taking a quick look. So let's see what this is...) _I quietly trot over to where I saw the shadow. I see it again, and so I quickly hide behind a tree and peek out at it. It was a pony, he was talking to someone, but I can't see who. Then, he turned his head, looking at where I had come from. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped, quickly drying up afterwards. Then, an evil smirk grew across my face. My eyes narrowing and focusing solely on him... the murderer. _(Perfect. This. Is. Perfect! I can use this, I can do so much with this opportunity! Now,) _My pupils shrank and my smirk grew more sinister, _(I take my chance!)_

* * *

_Corpus' inner World, unknown time..._

I fell down, completely exhausted of all of my energy. "Haaah...haaah...haaah... Yes... I did it... my... new technique is...finished..." I rolled onto my back, panting heavily as I looked at the endless expanse above me. I brough the notes over to me, a feeling of contained ecstasy brewing inside of me at the sight of their text. I turned my head and looked at the clock, 1 O'clock A.M. "I should head to sleep... Ly sent the message... at 6 two days ago... I have... 17 hours to rest... for our...fight..." I drift off into sleep, so tired that I fell asleep on my back as opposed to my side. Ready to sleep until the destined time where I shall fight Ly for my freedom...

* * *

_Real World, Fluttershy's Cottage **11:32 P.M...**_

A thick veil of darkness had cloaked Ponyville, giving it a serene feel as no details could be seen through the black sheet. The only light being the PAU moving through the skies with headlights and the GPU patrolling the streets with flash lights. Each squadron searching for the criminal on the loose in town. From the amount of lights moving around through the air and the ground, it'd be appropriate to assume that all 18 active members of the squads were currently on patrol. Another 18 lights started to move towards the active ones, once they met, the first set of 18 lights moved away. Their shift must have ended. At the Cottage, a dark cloak also covered most of the scenery. Making the area as creepy looking as the inside of the Everfree Forest, and possibly just as dangerous with the rogue moving about.

I walk into my dimly lit bedroom, jumping onto my bed and laying on my back as soon as I draw close to it. I place my hooves under my head and lay in a somewhat defiant manner.

"Hehe... Now, everything's ready. Step 5 is complete. Get ready Corpus," An extremely sinister and dark expression crossed over onto my face, "For the shock of your life!" I close my eyes, my aberrational smile never ceasing. Slowly, my consciousness is dragged away, out of the Real World and into Corpus' dimension.

* * *

_Corpus' inner World, approaching Time of Judgement..._

I stood there, looking at the clock, 5:59... I remove the clock from my world, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Ly. Suddenly, a bright flash shines out from behind me. I quickly turned around and saw the human stood there. His smile still the same as it was back then, unhindering, unchanging, still displaying joy. And his eyes were still as cold, catching me from behind his glasses. Still in the same attire too, he hadn't changed even the slightest amount from the other day, and that's what I had hoped for.

I returned the cold glare feeling anger rise up inside of me at the sight of him, adrenaline doubling up onto it at the thought of finally escaping. This is it, the final obstacle for my training. And,

_With this new strength, I will finally beat him and take my leave._

My mouth opened, and a cold, confident voice left it. Displaying my urge to end this suffering with his defeat by my hooves. "You ready, Ly?" My eyes continued their glare.

He returned the look, his smile growing all the more. But something was off, what left his mouth sounded... kinder than before... "Why of course Corpus. I wouldn't be so rude as to be unprepared for your defeat. Now let me ask you, **are you sure you want to fight me?" **His previous demeanor returned, triggering angry memories within me.

I didn't respond, I only lowered down into position, my horn glowing a fierce orange.

He returned the message, pushing his glasses up his face and taking one hand out of it's pocket.

And thus, our final battle had started...

* * *

**Woohoo! Over five thousand words! :D**

**Again, sorry for the long wait. I shouldn't be getting another horde of exams for a while so I'll be back to daily uploading from tomorrow ;)**

**As for your question Guest, I treated Spike like that because Twi was busy and doing it to Owlo would be animal cruelty. Spike's excused from the animal cruelty system, he's far too intelligent to be considered an animal XD But the main reason is because Spike's personality would suit it the best. Which is why I love him, he's too bucking funny!**

**And on another note, 50 reviews! Yay!**

**Anyway, review on the good, the bad and the myeh!**

**Bye bi!**


	19. Chapter 19: Sub-consciousness IV

**Author's note:**

**Well, now that most of my strenuous work is over and done with, I present to you Chapter 19! =D**

**As for CliffHater's question (Brilliant name, btw xD) I use cliffhangers for two main reasons.**

**1. It compels whomever's reading the story to read the next Chapter if they want to know what happens next.**

**And**

**2. If I didn't use them as often then my Chapters would be three to four times longer, much too long for me to get out all that often. I understand that they can be... aggravating, but there'll be a little less in upcoming Chapters :)**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus'/Ly's normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**Corpus' inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**Ly's inner thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to Corpus' inner thoughts but not entirely the same. In this Chapter, they are heard only by himself.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

My horn glowed violently, my magic stirring around it like an fierce fire wanting to wreck havoc. But he was stood there calmly, one hand on his glasses and the other behind his back, almost as if taunting me to attack him whilst he's handicapped. A devilish smile crawled onto his face as his eyes narrowed in on me, waiting for me to move.

After a few seconds he turned his head, looking at the room filled with my notes. "Hmm... so you _were_ using them. Tell me," He turned his head back to me, "Did you find mine useful?"

My eye twitched, the way he effortlessly got under my skin made me even more aggravated, this being reflected in the small increase in my horn's glow.

He turned around and began walking towards the room, putting his hands back into his pockets. "Let's see how much you've grown. Maybe I'll find some weaknesses in here too."

I couldn't see his face, but I'm sure that he had a sincere smile on it just to annoy me. But there's no way in hell he's going to see those notes, I focus my mind and make the room vanish with a flash, ensuring the protection of my new technique.

"Aww..." He turned back around and pouted at me like a child, crossing his arms. "I weally wanted to see them! Then you had to be a meanie and take them away fwom me!" This childish act is also pissing me off, he's trying to purposely piss me off just for fun! Well I've had enough.

Just standing around won't accomplish anything, and so I charge at him, much like I did in our first fight.

He simply unfolded his arms and held out a hand at around my head height, looking rather disappointed as he did so. "Look, I gave you three days to train, and this is all you come up with?"

"That opportunity was for you to train your mind and tactics as well as your strength, so if you really want to approach me like that," He glared at me angrily making his hand for my horn once I was in range, his other hand curling into a fist, "I'll show you your errors the hard way!" His hand approached my horn quickly, giving me but a second to react.

But I didn't. During our last fight, he made it distinctively clear that he had no intentions of touching my horn whilst it had this much power running through it. This was simply a bluff to throw me off, and so I thrusted my head forward with hopes to impale him.

He realised that I had called his bluff and deftly sidestepped, avoiding the entire attack. "I said," He threw his fist at me, aiming for the side of my head, "That it won't work on me!"

His fist hit nothing, stopping in the space where my body used to be. "Are you sure about that, Ly?"

He quickly looked over his shoulder, seeing me just behind him and primed to release a buck. I wasted not even a second, I shot my hind legs out as hard as I could, aiming for his head. He lunged himself forward, dodging my attack as a whole. He then threw his weight and momentum onto his hands and assumed a 'springing' position. Pushing himself off the ground, he planted both of his feet into my stomach and sent me a couple of metres skyward with a powerful double kick.

"Guh!" I bent inwards as I ascended, the blow knocking the oxygen out of my lungs as my diaphragm pulsed with pain. I reached my maximum height and began to descend, towards my opponent.

Ly twisted his body forward and landed on is feet in a crouch. Standing up, he curls his fist and prepares for me to reach him. "Now fight seriously!" He launched his fist into my chest, sending me back a dozen or so metres. He stood there and watched my body bound across the floor before coming to a halt.

I slowly stood back up, my legs shaking underneath me as I rose. I lifted my head and looked at him, seeing his cold ruthless eyes caused a deep anger to stir within me. I instinctively returned his piercing glare, our looks clashing between us.

_D-damnit! I... I can't beat him... I-I'm too scared, I can't react properly. I know how to move, I know how to counter his attacks! But, whenever he gets close I freeze up in fear. It's unfair... I can't touch him, but I can. I just need to work through this fear, then I can attack back. Come on Corpus!_

I shook my head, clearing my head of my previous thoughts.

_Just attack him. Give yourself the opening to use your new technique, once we do that we're as good as victorious! He can't hurt me like before, I'm much stronger now. _

I charge forwards, closing the gap between us as my magic began to course through my horn and radiate an orange glow. My eyes glittered with confidence as I locked his figure in my sights.

_And I'll prove it!_

* * *

Corpus came charging at me again, probably trying to achieve the same goal as he had tried a few moments ago.

_(Haa... seriously. I can't believe that he's not learning. I'm beginning to think that he's a completely lost cause, maybe I shouldn't have come back after all...? Regardless, I'd better beat some sense into this idiot. I'm not going to achieve what I want to if he doesn't come at me with everything he's got.)_

"Look, Corpus." He paid no mind, he just continued to close the gap between us at a constant speed. He was now a mere metre away from me. "If you don't attack me with everything you've got," I jumped to the side using my right foot whilst keeping my left close to the ground, moving backwards slightly as I did so. Thus dodging his attack. He then teleported. "Then," I pushed off of the ground with my free foot and moved in another direction, putting my right foot back towards the ground. I turn my head to see the bucking Alicorn descend to the ground, missing his intended target with a surprised look upon his face. I change my direction of motion again with my right foot and quickly dissipate the gap between us, bringing my arm back for a punch. "You'll never stand a chance at anything!" I shot my arm forward, my curled fist firing like a bullet at his face.

_(He's going to dodge this and teleport a few metres away from me, giving me a little bit more time to do **that.** But before then I'll hav-)_

My fist made contact with Corpus' face, my eyes widening in shock as he flew back again. I felt a slight anger spark inside of me.

_(What the hell is wrong with him!? He should have teleported! He knew he had to and had plenty of time to do so, so why!?)_

Corpus stood back up, giving me another look as his legs shook slightly. I felt my eyes narrow into him as I realised what was going on.

_(I see... he's still that afraid of me. He has a glint of fear in his eyes and his legs are shaking despite having no damage done to them or anything associated with them. For God's sake... I won't be able to start step 6 like this. I need him to come at me with everything he can muster. Guess I'd better tell him, that'll piss him enough for him to forget fear.)_

I felt a smile crawl onto my face. I returned my hands to their pockets.

_(Then I'll have just the final step to go, until my plan's completed...)_

"Hey, toy." His eyes widened at the remark and quickly sharpened to give me angry glare, looks like he's listening, "Wanna know something fun?"

"I don't give a crap about what you find amusing, I just want to beat you." Despite wanting my defeat, he hasn't moved. I'll have to aggravate him further. But of course, I wasn't planning on ending it there anyway.

"Oh trust me, I think you'll care about this a lot." My smile cast a more sinister layer over itself, drawing him in.

"...what?" His gaze never dropped in strength.

"Tonight..."

_(Step 6...)_

* * *

"Everyone you hold dear will die."

My legs stopped shaking, my breath slowly began to work its way to being sharp and frigid. '_Everyone you hold dear will die'... H-he just said that right? He couldn't have meant it, it's impossible! H...He's right here! There's no way he could kill everyone, don't fall for it Corpus!_

My mouth started to form into a shaky smile, belittling his statement. "Heh... yeah right. You're stood right here! There's no way you could kill them!" I put my right hoof forward and walked onto it slightly, declaring my confidence in his lie.

"I never said _I _would kill them, did I?" His grin only continued to grow, dissolving my confidence bit by bit.

My voice started to shake from nervousness, my belief that he was lying starting to fade a little. "W-what do you mean...? If it's not you... if it's not you then who is it!? The _Murderer_!?"

He closed his eyes and gave me a 'heart-warming' smile, "But of course! He _is _a murderer after all."

I...I meant that as a joke... There's no way...

"There's no way you'd know!" My anger rose and tears started to well in my eyes... am I believing him? "Only HE would know something like that! So why would you know if he would!?"

"Because I told him to."

No... that's a lie... "Why would he listen to you!? You know what he's like! He doesn't listen to anybody!"

"Unless it benefitted him." My mouth twitched. I wanted to cry, but I can't in front of him. I know he's not lying, that tone proves so... so why...? "You see, he lost a certain item. And he's quite determined to get it back. I happen to know where it is too, and so I made him an offer. 'In exchange for me helping him retrieve his item, he's to kill most of Ponyville's population.'"

"B-b...but how...?" My voice won't stop shaking and breaking. "The entire town's in High Alert... th-re's no w...ay he could kill them..."

"Unless he used the Death Note." His eyes opened, revealing his evil gaze as it struck me where it hurt the most, the heart.

I felt a tear roll down my cheek. "Y-you... gave it to... him...? He could kill us..."

He shook his head, clearly forgetting to tell me something. "I only gave him one page, that'll be enough for a good hundred names. And he can't kill us, I only told him that our name was Corpus. The poor thing even tried to use it on us, you can imagine his face at that failure. He didn't even try to get our real name though. I suppose knowing that another person gave you the note would put you at a point where you'd have to be retarded to try and ask for their real name."

"B-but...-"

"And he knows the rules."

Another tear rolled down my cheek as I lowered my head, feeling sobs jump through my throat and make my body bump. The lone tear fell to the floor and splashed, forming multiple tiny droplets to drop into it's area of landing.

"I gave him a list of every name and place I know, including all of your new friends. They'll be dead long before the night is. He'll also ask every Guardian who he comes across for a name, killing them shortly afterwards. He'll be using your cloak to protect his identity." He took both hands out of his pockets and placed them behind his head, kicking a leg up and crossing it over his other one. "Ponyville will be a shadow of it's former self, and there's nothing you can do to save it."

"...Are you sure that you want to be telling me this...?" My tears had stopped, my voice no longer cracking in and out of pitch.

"For the purpose of entertainment. Yes."

"Then," I brought my head up, shouting with all of my soul, "I WILL CRUSH YOU INTO THE DUST AND GET OUT OF HERE! I WILL CATCH HIM, AND BREAK EVERY BONE IN HIS BODY IF HE SO MUCH AS **TRIES **TO KILL ANYONE!" My eyes were burning with an undying rage, explosive anger and emotions bursting from my words and being, "I will not allow anyone close to me to die by his hoof, YOU HEAR ME!?" My horn exploded with power, an orange light so pure and bright coating it that the horn itself was hidden within an almost white core.

_I feel no more fear... only anger. With this, I can beat him! I WILL beat him!_

I kicked up dust underneath me and charged full throttle at Ly, my eyes never leaving their target. I neared him and lunged my head toward him, resulting in him jumping back again.

_Perfect! Now's my chance!_

* * *

_(Ah, good. There's no more fear to hinder my plan, now we can finally start.)_

I jump back, dodging his thrust with ease. He then disappeared and reappeared in front of me. I jumped to his side as he bucked, repeating almost everything from earlier and feeling deeply disappointed. I brought my arm back and... he's gone...

I feel a sharp, blunt force smash me in the side of my head, sending me bouncing along the floor until I stopped a dozen or so metres away from my previous stand point. I place a hand on my knee and stand myself up, wiping blood from the side of my head and feeling dizzy. I look up, seeing nothing there. Corpus then appears in front of me and prepares another buck, leaving me not even a second to react. I bring my arms to my face and watch him vanish... without even charging magic.

Another blow was dealt to my head, only this time from behind. My face flew forwards and smacked against the ground, sending strong waves of pain that rippled through my skull and nose with each and every beat of my heart. I began to lift myself up but was forced back into the ground by a hoof on my back, my nose making a strong connection with the floor again as more pain flooded it.

"Do you give up?" His voice lowed down from above me, flaring an air of superiority and rage with his words.

"Heh, who do you think I am?" I began pushing against the ground, raising my body and his hoof.

He applied more strength into his leg to push me back down a bit, "Scum who deserves to die. That's what!"

I turn my head slightly, looking at him from the corners of my eyes, smiling. "So are you going to kill me?"

"...No. I need you to get out of here and protect my friends. For that, I'll only force you to let me out." He pushed me back to the ground, his cold stare burning through my back.

"If you can, that is." I put all of my strength into my arms and launched myself off the ground, knocking his hoof off my back as I did so. He stumbled backwards slightly and I jumped forward, creating a small gap between us. "Just remember, Corpus," I wiped the blood from my face that had leaked from my head and nose, standing up straight and placing my hands into my coat pockets afterwards, "That I'm going to put up a bloody strong fight!"

_(He's indefinitely stronger now, looks like step 6 may be over soon. But something's bugging me... how does he teleport continuously without charging his horn first? It's impossible to use magic without first summoning up the necessary power, so how...?)_

"Ditto." He disappeared from my view, bound to re-appear in 3...2...1 NOW!

I lean backwards, using my superior human flexibility to my advantage to dodge his buck. Seeing him disappear yet again, I jump from my current location and see him appear where I just was, a buck primed to fire. I narrow my eyes and stop, standing completely still. A quick orange flash appears before me, Corpus emerging from the vanishing flash with his legs ready to shoot forth. As his buck comes at me, I grab a hold of each of his hind hooves. Getting pushed back, I completely stop their motion and hold him in mid-air as I examine him closely. I see a faint orange tint coming out of his fur.

_(No way... so that's what he's doing!)_

Corpus teleported out of my grasp and appeared a few feet away, looking at me with more irritation than before. Huh, didn't think it was possible.

_(So he's fighting with a veil of magic cloaking his body. Thus allowing him to compress and expand himself at will without needing any charge time at all. I've got to hand it to him, I didn't think that'd he'd be this good at this point in time. Guess I'll be finished with my plan all the quicker then.)_

A small smirk grew in my face as I could see where the battle would now lead.

* * *

Ly just stood there, smirking at me...

_Curse him... he found out my technique! He's a lot better than I thought that he'd be, but I'll still crush him all the same! I'll smash him into the dust, putting him on the bottom of my hoof where he belongs!_

I teleported behind him, preparing for another buck when he pre-emptively jumped out of the way. Predicting this, I held my legs in position and simply teleported to his new location, releasing my kick towards his chest as soon as I arrived.

"Tch!" He didn't have enough time to dodge it, and so he blocked with his arms instead.

He got sent flying back still and most likely felt a lot of pain in his arms from where he blocked. He lowered his arms and stared at me hatefully with his deep hazel eyes.

"You know, Corpus..." He started his sentence, I gritted my teeth at the sound of his voice. "You'll never save anyone with pathetic strength like that, weakling,"

That pushed me much, MUCH too far! I'm already fucking enraged at him making a deal with the murderer, but insulting my resolve as well!? I'll kill him... I'll kill him, I'll kill him I'll kill him!

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" My rage snapping beyond its limits, my horn glowed a brilliant orange as the area became a light display, flashing with orange everywhere as I teleported to him.

I materialise in front of him and shot out my fore hoof to hit him in the face, where he moved to the side and planted his fist into my face instead.

"Don't get cocky you brat!" He pushed his fist all the way through my body's physical resistance and sent me flying back, blood dripping from my injured snout.

I glared at him angrily, wincing from the near to unbearable pain arising in my nose. Before a small smirk made its way onto my face.

Ly stood back up from his punch and returned my look, before a small explosion came from his back, followed by several others. Through the quickly moving smoke, Ly shot out, running from several orange spheres of magical energy.

* * *

_(Damnit! When the hell did he make all of these!? Two of them already hit me,)_

I look downwards slightly with my eyes,

_(It burns... But,)_

I look back at the incoming spheres, watching them lose to my speed slightly,

_(I'm lucky three of them accidentally collided, otherwise these would have also gotten me!)_

The five projectiles then disappeared, leaving no trace of existence. My eyes shot open from shock and I stopped moving, looking around myself for the missing assault.

"Damn, Corpus must've teleported them. But to where...?" I quietly muttered to myself as I looked around more, before seeing an orange glow on the floor. "Crap!" I jumped forward and continued running, the balls had shot down from the sky and almost hit me, missing me by mere centimetres. "That sneaky..." I continued to run, trying to make some distance between us.

_(Wait a minute, Corpus has to focus on keeping this magic following me. That means he'll be wide open for attack! And if he goes on the defensive, then these'll drop down dead! Right!)_

I make a quick turn, the balls narrowly avoiding me yet again. I start making a run towards Corpus, ready to put my make-shift plan into action.

I began to close the distance between me and Corpus, but he still hasn't moved or shown any indication that he knows I'm coming. Is he daydreaming? No, he wouldn't be controlling these otherwise. Then what is he planning?

As I draw nearer, I see a livid expression on his face with a small smirk mixed in. I get closer, and closer, and closer. But it's still there.

_(Hm. Never mind. He has around six seconds before I reach him, so he shou-!)_

My thoughts were instantly halted as I saw what he was smiling about. Behind him... he had accumulated another two dozen of those magic spheres. I couldn't help but smile...

_(Heh... looks like this is it. I can't dodge them all, he's won. And with this many hitting me, I'm sure to die. And so step 6... is complete...)_

I halt my movement as the other spheres come at me, a barrage of explosions filling the area I am in...

* * *

Ly suddenly stops, admitting defeat to me. I then call in all of the spheres I had made behind me, cloaking Ly in constant explosions of magic.

"Yes... I win..." My rage dies down as my energy levels deplete to almost nothing. Keeping myself cloaked in magic for eight straight minutes took a lot out of me. Not to mention the obscene amount of projectiles I had made and how I kept a veil of magic over each of them too.

I walk over to the charred area, wobbling a little every two or three steps. Eventually I was stood above Ly, as he lay there on the ground with a smile plastered to his face. I instantly felt bitter about it, how he was still smiling after that.

"What the hell... are you smiling... at?" My breath was drawing heavy, I had really over-exerted myself. I could feel my head going faint.

He looked at me with one semi-open eye, marks all over his body from the beating he took. He chuckled a little, before letting out his words. "You didn't kill me. That's why I'm smiling..."

"Well... of course I didn't... I wouldn't have been... able to defeat **him**... and protect everyone if I... had killed us..." My vision was very slowly starting to blur, and my head was lightly pulsing with an almost low level ecstasy, making it hard to remain standing.

Ly closed his eye and smiled happily at me, his voice changing to a calm, kind one with no malicious intent. "You pass... I'm happy for you..."

I was brought back to reality a little, his words leaving me in huge shock. "W-...What? I... pass? Pass what!? I want to get out of here! I need to save my friends!"

He continued his smile. "You pass in being yourself. The real you..."

My anger was starting to work up again, only to fall to fatigue. "Stop screwing around...! Let me out! My friends are in danger because of you!"

"Don't worry, they're safe."

"...What...?"

"Everything about me talking to the murderer and him killing your friends... was all a lie."

Intense relief filled me. Tears almost making their way to my eyes, if I wasn't also pissed off. "Then why... why did you say they were!?" I don't know if I'm shouting from happiness or anger anymore...

"To let you fight without fear..." I became speechless, what he was saying didn't make sense. "Remember what I said before our first fight? 'I'm here to heal you', that's what I said, and I meant it. I brought you here and forced you through all of this to make you value life, to make you see that there are some things worth protecting. Or, should I say, some ponies? At first you wanted to die, and now you want to live. Your reason for wanting to live is to protect those important to you, heh... some murderer you are, huh?"

_ I didn't even realise, he was actually helping me all this time... He was making me realise that I have something that a murderer does not, something which i'm willing to risk everything to protect... and-_

"And the restraint to not kill, correct." Ly looked up at me, finishing my thought.

I was completely taken back, unable to explain what he said. "How did you know what I was thinking!? We're two separate beings here!"

"I'm your sub-conscious. I can read all of your thoughts... as long as you let me."

"T-then...?"

"You've accepted me again, as your friend. You did so the moment you decided not to kill me. You didn't let me live because you wanted to escape. With that rage, whomever it was targeted at would be assured death in almost every circumstance. But it faded as soon as you saw me stop, seeing me bend to you was enough for you to realise that you were strong enough to beat me... to kill me... But realising your standing also made you consider whether killing would be right or not. And guess what? You answered correctly."

The tears really wouldn't stop, I could feel my head turning faint and my mind going blank. But I still had unanswered questions, I want to stay awake. "L-Ly-"

"Rest, Corpus. You're a little too tired to talk. I'll send you back to the real world."

"B-but I-"

"I'll answer your questions when you wake up. For now, you need to return. It's almost morning, and you still have some ponies to protect, remember?" His smile shone up at me, easing my thoughts and prompting me to agree.

"...Okay, I'll wait..." My vision was now nothing but a large blur, barely able to make out Ly from the white floor. Without warning, I pass out. Landing next to Ly in the infinite expanse of my mind, moving back to the real world as I slept...

* * *

**Super late Chapter! *O***

**I didn't apologize earlier but, sorry for the really late Chapter!**

**College work is getting a little hectic and I'm writing exams left, right and center. But oh well ^^**

**And does this classify as a cliff-hanger? It's not very mysterious nor does it seem very anticipation-inducing. If it is a hanger, tell me and I'll try to fix it... somehow... maybe...**

**Anyway, review on the good, the bad and the myeh!**

**Bye bi!**


	20. Chapter 20: The 11th Dawn: Recap & Start

**Author's note:**

**College work increasing, free time decreasing... For the foreseeable future I shall be uploading a Chapter every two days at the aboslute most, but even then it'll be somewhat rare for a chapter to come out within two days of another, but I'll still get as much done in one day as I can! =) I'm also going to be making the Chapters a bit longer as compensation ;)**

**I thought long and hard about your statement Horshshoe crab... okay well, actually about four seconds... ****Rrrrregardless!** It then became very apparent to me that, despite being an M rated Fic, there is almost no M material in it :/ And so I have decided to fix this error and put in more smut! As much as I hate that word...

**But please don't expect there to be a lot, kinda in the middle of a part where smmm- sex stuff can't be put in very easily without distracting from the story and looking out of place. But I promise that there will be M content coming in somewhat regularly in about 15 Chapters time :\ But there will be stuff before that! I can assure you of that ;)**

* * *

**Side Note:**

**I'm very sorry about this chapter. I'm not gonna lie, you'll most likely find it boring as buck. I lost motivation on this so often because of how much I dislike it and the sheer size which it was originally going to be (14000+ words). But Chapter 21 will be much, MUCH better! Cross my heart hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! There, can't break a Pinkie Promise! :)**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

A small beam of light shot through a tiny gap in the curtains of Corpus' room, laying itself onto his face. A soft, gentle morning breeze kindly pushed its way in through the open window, blowing the curtains apart slightly and allowing the beam of light to grow. It now lit up a small portion of Corpus' face, revealing a bright glow from his auburn mane as it reflected the sunlight. He twisted over in his sleep and lay with the light illuminating the area around his eye and disturbing him. He quickly flipped back onto his other side and slowly opened and closed his eyes, allowing them to adjust as he woke up.

_(Good morning, Prince.)_

_Mmn... Mornmmnin..._

_(Umm..._ _what...?)_

_Good morning..._

_(Oh right. Your thoughts sound rather slurred, are you okay?)_

_I'm tired... stupid Sun, waking me up at...hm... hey... what's the time...?_

_(Uhh... around 5-ish, I think?)_

_ What!? A.M!?_

_(Yeah, why? Did you think we'd be waking up later?)_

_Kinda! You know, like how we were beforehand! Even Fluttershy isn't up yet! For what reason would we need to be up this early!?_

_(Today's Wednesday.)_

_...So? It's still early!_ I rolled back onto my side and tucked myself under the quilt, getting ready to fall back to sleep.

_(So you're going to stay at Applejack's for a few days, remember?)_

_No... it's been a good week since then. What a minute... why are we still in fluttershy's house? I thought we moved out of here days ago!_

_(...Noo... today is Wednesday, the day you leave for Applejack's. We're going to help her on the farm, most likely.)_

_Wait, wait, wait, hold up a sec. So it's only been three days since you trapped me in my sub-consciousness?_

_(Yup.)_

_And I was there for over a week, right?_

_(Right again.)_

_So how the hell does that work!?_

_(Hmm... I'll tell you in a few minutes. For now, get up and get ready to leave. It's a bit of a walk from here to Sweet Apple Acres, and we wanna get there a little bit early too.)_

_Haa... fine. But you have to answer all of my questions on our way there. Agreed?_

_(Agreed.)_

"Mmn... I really don't wanna mo~ve... Nng... nng...!" I begin trying to roll, moving my body to the side to try and build a bit of momentum to move onto my side and off the bed. Only for each attempt to end in vain...

_(Just get up, I didn't move your face into the sunlight for you to procrastinate y'know.)_

"What do you mean moved my face into the sunlight? You're in my head, you can't move me..." I moved my hoof to the edge of the bed and pulled myself to the brink, dazedly looking at the floor.

_(Joystick, remember? I can make you do stuff like this.)_

My fore-leg tensed and pulled on the bed side with all of it's strength, forcing me over the edge and leaving me to crash on the floor. I hurt my nose...

_What the hell was that for!?_

_(Demonstration purposes.)_

I stand myself up, rubbing the end of my nose. _Well next time use a method that doesn't inflict pain on me!_

_(But now you're fully awake. You should be a little more grateful to me y'know.)_

_I would've woken up even if you hadn't done that!_

_(No, you were planning on closing your eyes for a few seconds whilst on the edge of the bed, then you would've fallen asleep again.)_

I pout and deter my head from an imaginary pony in front of me and walk to the door, thinking in a disagreeable tone. _I would not have. I was simply allowing them to adjust to the light levels off the bed._

_(You were even thinking "Mnn~ I wanna sleep... I'll take a quick nap like this"!)_

_...So what if I was...? _I open the door and turn out down the hallway and towards the stairs.

_(Well it proves my point, first of all. Secondly, it clearly shows that you don't care about your questions getting answered.)_

_I-I do care! I was just a little sleepy... sleep deprivation makes you make the wrong choices..._ I begin to descend down the the wooden staircase.

_(Sure, blame it on deprivation...)_

_Wha-? It's your fault that I woke up! AND you're the one who decided to go to sleep at whatever time last night!_

_(Half Eleven-ish. And your mind was still active for a while due to the fight. It's not really a surprise that you're still mentally tired from it.)_

_Why would I be mentally tired? I was **fighting**, not thinking._ I reached the bottom of the stairs, turning to face the kitchen.

_(With the way it started, that wouldn't be entirely wrong...)_

_What was that?_

_(I'll answer your questions on our way to AJ's place.)_

_But that doesn't count as-_

_(Zt!)_

_Don't "Z-"_

_(Zt!)_

_Bu-_

_(ZT! No more questions until we're walking, okay?)_

_Giba-!...dogebu-!... Fine, have it your way..._ I start walking forward and reach the kitchen, taking a quick glance at the shelves and cupboards.

_(What're you doing? It's five in the morning, and I doubt you're hungry.)_

_Well I'm going to be hungry later, and I have no idea where the farm is. It could take us an hour or two before we actually get there._

My horn glows and a couple of cupboard doors open, allowing me to rummage through their contents.

_(You can eat when you get there!)_

My horn involuntarily closed the doors back up.

_(And Fluttershy has a map on the wall over there. You can make your way to Sweet Apple Acres quite easily using that.)_

_Mmn... I'd rather not but...I guess I don't really have a choice... _I turn around and see a Town Map pinned up on the wall. I approach it and take a close look at it, searching for Sweet Apple Acres upon it.

_(WOAH!)_

_What!? What happened!?_

_(I can't see anything! I've gone blind!)_

_...Are your eyes closed?_

_(No! Everything's green! I'm freaking the crap out here! Do something!)_

_D-do what!?_ I pull my head away from the map so I don't get distracted.

_(Ah! That's better. Hmm... oh! I see.)_

_...Care to let me in on your discovery?_

_(So long as you promise not to steal it and reveal it to the scientific press in your name. I've already got all of the evidence to say that I was the one who made the discovery, so I could just sue you for theft if you ever tried it.)_

_...That joke was so long-winded that it lost its effect, which was already pretty weak to start with._

_(I thought it was funny...)_

_...Your discovery?_

_(I'm looking at the map!)_

_Oh... that's all?_

_(Well it's quite strange in all honesty. I mean, it's appeared here in your sub-conscious.)_

_Huh... that is... rather odd._

_(Hey, try moving your head away from the map. I wanna test something.)_

_Sure, but be sure to mention my name to the scientific press. I don't want you hogging all the glory._

_(Stealing my joke and making it crapper now, are we?)_

_You mispronounced "Better"._

_(Ha ha...)_

I move away from the wall and turn my back to the map.

_(Hmm... it's still here. Maybe you remember i-... nope. It's gone, well most of it is anyway.)_

_Meaning?_

_(Look at the map again, try to remember as much of it as you can. Then I'll be able to keep it in here and direct you on where to go.)_

_So that's what it's doing? That's pretty cool!_ I turn back around and stand close to the map, taking it in.

_Hey! I found Sweet Apple Acres!_

_(Yep, same here. Hey...)_

_Hm? What?_

_(Look very closely. What do you see?)_

_Well..._ I move my head in closer, earning a scream from Ly.

_(Don't physically move closer! It's becoming bigger again!)_

_Ah, sorry!_ I brought my head back, apologizing to my sub-conscious.

_(Thanks... that's much better. Now look carefully. Do you see it?)_

I focus my vision on the map, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. I kept scanning my eyes over it, trying to find what had Ly so concerned.

_(A little to the left, do you see it?)_

I move my eyes to where he instructed, noticing something faint.

_Yeah... I see it too. What do you think it means?_

_(I've... not the faintest...)_

_Close your eyes, I'm going to take a closer look._

I move my head in closer to the map, seeing some boxes and with numbers and words in them faintly inside of it.

_Boxes with numbers and letters inside._

_(What're they doing there? Are they grids?)_

_No, they're too faint to be there for a practical purpose. Maybe..._

I loosen the pin on the wall using magic, lifting it and the map off. A thick pad of paper then fell off from behind the map.

_Ah! Hey Ly, take a look._

_(What is it? ...Wait, isn't that a calendar?)_

_Yeah... but why was it hidden behind the map? _I lift the calendar up to myself, taking a look at it.

_(Better question would be how the hell didn't we see it bulging from the wall?)_

_We're not very observant, are we?_

_(Not at all...)_

_Close your eyes again, I'm going to take a close look._

_(Gotcha.)_

I look a little closer at the calendar, realizing that it had today's date on it.

_(Should I open my eyes now?)_

_Probably not, the calender's closer to my face than the map was earlier._

_(Right. Wait a minute... I don't remember there being a map on the wall before... Is it new?)_

_I've no idea, but listen to this. Every day has been ticked off except for today onwards, and there's the word "Season" written in today's box. With "Season Ends" written in a box 3 days later. What do you think it means?_

_(Not sure, but she might not have wanted us to see it. It would explain why a map was put over it. Oh! It might be a game season! Like...Po...nyball...)_

_The hell sort of game is that?_

_(The sort which I just made up. But it's pretty odd... oh, maybe she hid it behind the map so others wouldn't see it!)_

_Mm... if that's the case I'll just put it back._

I levitate the calendar back into place, putting the pin back through it.

_(You can put the map back too, I've memorised the best route there.)_

_Gotcha._

I took the pin out and held the calendar in place, placing the map back over it and pinning both of them back to the wall.

_(Shall we go?)_

_In a minute, I'm gonna leave a note for Fluttershy saying that we've left for Sweet Apple Acres._

_(Okay, there's a pen and some paper in that drawer.)_

_Why do you know where stuff is?_

_(Spent three days here, tend to pick things up in that length of time.)_

_Fair play._ I make my way over to the designated drawer, opening it and taking out a pen and paper. Scribbling down a message to leave for the Pegasus.

_Right, done._

_(Just leave it on the table for her, she should see it.)_

_But if she walks into my room and sees that I'm not there, she might start to freak out a little._

_(Oh yeah... just leave it next to her bed then. That should be close enough.)_

_On it._

I Pick up the parchment and climb the wooden flight, soon making my appearance at the landing at it's summit. I continue to walk down the hallway, stopping outside of Fluttershy's bedroom and gently grabbing the handle with my magic, pushing it down to open the door. Only for it to be locked and impossible to get inside.

_Huh? It's locked._

_(Really? Are you sure that you're not just weakly trying to open it?)_

_I'm pretty sure that I have the strength to open a door._

_(That's not what I said. I asked if you were using too little strength to open it.)_

_Yes, I'm using enough. Put it's locked, listen. _I move the handle down with my magic and push the door forward, the sound of a small but thick metal bar hitting the frame sounding out from the side of the door.

_See?_

_(Oh yeah... just slide it underneath then, she'll see it when she wakes up.)_

_Mm. _I place the note on the floor and slide it under the door, bending down to make sure that it's gone in far enough.

_(Now let'sa go!)_

_Where'd you get that from? It sounds really familiar. _I turn from Fluttershy's door and begin my route to the front door, feeling an uncontrollable giggle beginning to stir in my throat.

_(Dunno. It just came to my head instinctively, sounds kinda funny though doesn't it? Hehehe...)_

_A little, yeah! Especially with that high-pitched voice you did near the end!_

_(Dear Celestia! Where did I get that from? Hahaha!)_

_Stop laugh-ing... you're making me bwa~hahahaha!_

_(Ple-hee-heese make it stop!)_

"I-I can't! Hahahahaha! Please God, stop this!"

I fell into a laughing fit, falling onto the floor with unstoppable giggles. I rolled over holding my stomach and fell off the landing, now plummeting down the stairs whilst bumping various parts of my body. I finally reach the bottom with a rather loud thud, my laughter ceasing immediately.

_(Ooh... are you okay?)_

"...Pfft! Pahahaha~! Oh dear God! Why the hell am I still laughing!?"

_(Hey... get a hold of yourself. Pain isn't funny...)_

"I-I-I can't help it!" A low grumble of a laugh left my mouth, still completely out of my control.

_(Haaa... right, I'm stopping this.)_

A strange sensation filled my body as my mouth shut itself and my laughter felt as if it was forcefully being suppressed inside my chest. I involuntarily stood back up, the pain from my bumps making itself apparent.

"L-Ly? What's going on?" I felt my mouth start to form into a wavy line as a small sense of anticipating fear took over me.

_(I'm just controlling your body to stop your laughter, you're going to wake up Fluttershy and fill the house with that contagious outbreak.)_

"O-oh, thanks. You can stop now though... my laughter's stopped." I winced in pain slightly as I realized that I may have bruised my flank a little.

_(Sure, but be sure not to let out any more laughter. It's getting a little annoying.)_

I felt a release over my body, all of its senses and reactions returning to me.

"...Pfft! Pa-!" A small squeal escaped through my lips as I held them shut.

_(That's it!)_

My laughter got forced back into my throat again, almost making me choke on it.

"Phew... thanks again, I don't know why I keep laughing though..." I started to walk to the door, it seems Ly only stopped me from laughing and left me in charge of the rest of my body.

(Yeah, it's a mystery.)

I grab my cloak from the chair tucked under the table, don it, and open the door and depart from the little cottage, closing the door behind myself and making my way over the bridge. Whilst walking through the small fields I could hear a few lone birds tweeting and the sound of other small critters sleeping soundly in their homes. As we began following the route Ly had just sent to me via B-mail, I felt it a necessary time to have my questions answered.

"So... about my questions..." I started, looking forward inquisitively as if Ly was stood there.

_(Fire away.)_

"Right. Well first of all, why did you beat me to a pulp in my inner world? Couldn't you have just used Applejack's methods?"

_(No, not really. You were being unbelievably unco-operative.)_

"R-really? Was I that bad?"

_(You were awful, you were the most depressed pony in Equestria for a good few hours.)_

"And you couldn't think of any way to make me feel better than to try to kill me?" My eyes fell slightly judgemental as gears were beginning to turn in my head, there are so many other ways to make someone better...

_(Doing that was the most effective method to bring you back, you were in one hell of a depression abyss. Most methods wouldn't have any effect whatsoever. Besides, without doing that I wouldn't have been able to reach my penultimate goal.)_

"And that was...?"

_(To make you want to live, of course.)_

_My ears flared up and my pupils shrank at what I heard, _"Was I really that upset about it!? I wanted to die!?"

_(Yep. Wait... how do you not remember!? You tried to kill me to kill yourself! ...even if that was under my influence a little...)_

"I...don't know... But, how would bringing me closer to what I wanted make me want to live? That's a little too contradictory, in all honesty..."

_(Well, my plan had seven steps...)_

"..."

_(...Well...?)_

"Well what? You just stopped mid-sentence!"

_(I was pausing for dramatic effect. I was also kinda hoping that you'd ask what they were. You know, because this seven step plan came out of nowhere?)_

"Oh gee Ly, whatever was this mysterious plan of your's?" My voice had a hardly subtle and very sharp sarcastic tone to it.

_(Well Corpus, I'm glad you asked! The very first step was to make you recognise my existence.)_

"Which I already did..."

_(Not in your sanity deprived state you didn't. All you cared about was escaping, seeing me as a doorway to that goal. So I took a pre-caution to make it easier for you to recognise me...)_

"...You're waiting for me to ask again, aren't you?"

A small 'Squee~' rang out in my head, sounds like a cartoon noise for a smile...

"Haa... fine. What was this pre-caution, oh fantastic Ly!?" Yet another venomously sarcastic comment left my mouth.

_(I decided to name myself Ly, after your former murderous self. That kinda pissed you off a little, making it much easier to make step 1 end. By making you say my name as I overpowered you.)_

"Which ultimately achieved...?"

_(The start of step 2. Making you fear me.)_

"Okay, this plan is starting to sound utterly stupid."

_(Don't brand it as stupid when I haven't even finished yet! Besides, it worked in the end so it's proven to be extremely effective!)_

"Fine, continue."

_(Thank you. Well, now that I had your acknowledgement, it was time to take it to a new level. I started to beat the crap out of you in hopes of making you fear me, to see me as a threat. But instead you grew excited because you thought that you would be able to die.)_

"I was still thinking that!?"

_(Yep, even I didn't expect it.) _He spoke as if he were some omniscient being... cocky much? _(Anyway. Now that you had shown that you didn't fear death in the slightest, I had to resort to something rather... brutal...)_

"What... could possibly be more brutal than attempted murder? And don't say murder! It won't be funny!"

_(Hey, hey... I don't make death jokes, that's just messed up...)_

"Sorry, but with you it's hard to tell what you're going to say."

_(Apology and complement accepted.)_

"And thus you prove me right."

_(No problem! Anyway, back to what I was saying. I had to start to use low level torture on you to instill fear into you, seeing as the threat of death had no effect...)_

"...What do you mean 'low-level' torture? Are you saying you know 'high-level' torture too!?"

_(No, no, no, no! I mean it's somewhat torturous, but it's nowhere near as bad as being suspended by a rope, spliced open down the middle and having your entrai-)_

"Stop there, I don't really want to hear the rest of that..." I closed my eyes and shivered a little, morbid thoughts slowly leaving my head.

_(Ah, sorry...)_

"Don't worry, continue."

_(Right, as I was saying. I started to inflict a torturous like pain into your head by pressing it against the floor with extreme force, thus classically conditioning you into associating me with torture, making you fear me whenever I next appeared. I wrapped up step 2 by leaving you unconscious after mercilessly attacking you, appearing again a few days later. Only too find that you were still unconscious, and so I brought in a bed and put you in it. But you were still too afraid of me to notice that the bed wasn't supposed to be there! It did make me want to laugh...)_

"You're... unbelievable... You found it funny that I was too scared to notice a bed?"

_(When you say it like that... it sounds really bad...)_

"So what did you do then?"

_(Well, we fought again. Only this time you didn't fight so pathetically, you actually managed to hit me.)_

"Uh, huh. Did I do anything else worth a mention?"

_(Nope, absolutely nothing. That was you're one redeeming feature during the fight.)_

"And this is why I hate fighting, I'll just end up getting hurt. Oh, and I vaguely recall doing some magic training for a few days. Any ideas for that?"

_(Yup! You were practising magic for our third and final match, mainly focusing around teleportation.)_

"Yeah... I can remember bits of it. Was this also on your plan?"

_(That it was, it was step 5. Steps 3 and 4 ending with your slight improvement in fighting and your second loss to me inside your inner world.)_

"I still really don't see the effectiveness of your so-called plan, you just seem to be trying to make me stronger, that doesn't relate to wanting to live whatso-"

_(Wait, "bits of it"? Do you mean you remember some of what happened?)_

"Uh, well yeah. Not much though." We were coming close to Ponyville now, some of the buildings could be seen from where we were.

_(Can you tell me what?) _But, something felt off... but I couldn't place my hoof on it...

"Well, it's only small pieces. Such as practising magic and, being trapped for over a week and... making some technique or... something like that..." The feeling coming from the town is really creepy now, it doesn't feel natural in the slightest...

_(Mm... that's not really that much.)_

"So why is my memory so... not there?"

_(If I had to take a guess, I'd say that it's because you absolutely exhausted yourself. But before you interrupt me-)_

"That's just making a baseless assumption..."

_(...Ahem...)_

"...Oh...right. Sorry..."

_(Thanks. Anyway, during the fight you were in a mental form, meaning that the more you stressed yourself the more you stressed your mind. So it'd be logical to guess that the strain affected your memory.)_

"Hmm... makes sense. So what was step 6?"

_(Well, you'd gotten stronger during step 5 so now it was time to fight you again.)_

"More fighting...?"

_(Orpheously.)_

"Orpheously? Is that even a word?"

_(It's making fun of our way of saying 'obviously', besides it sounds pretty cool.)_

"...Fair enough, so why did we fight again? Wasn't two times enough?"

_(...What? No. You lost both times, why would we stop there!?)_

"What does me losing have to do with more fighting!?"

_(Are you retarded? Because I wouldn't let you out otherwise!)_

"...The crap was I supposed to know that!? I told you that I don't remember much!"

_(Wait... I didn't tell you earlier...?)_

"No! You didn't, so don't get angry at me!"

_(O-oh... sorry... should I tell you now?)_

"Yeah, that'd be an idea." A small portion of sarcasm left my mouth along with that statement.

_(Hurtful... Anyway, I made a proposition with you before your training that you could get out if you beat me in a fight. You easily accepted this as a deal because you couldn't kill yourself in your inner world, so being outside would allow you to die. But that all changed with step 6...)_

"...Again, what is step 6?"

_(Step 6 was to change your resolve and almost fully heal you from your emotional dive. You see, my little "Fear the almighty Ly!" stunt kinda made you afraid of me regardless of the three days of training you went through, so I kinda took a gamble...)_

"What kind of gamble exactly?" I have an exceedingly bad feeling about this...

_(I sorta told you that I made a deal with the murderer to kill all of your friends and everyone else in Ponyville...)_

"...What the hell would that accomplish!? I could've gone on a bloody rampage if I took that seriously!"

_(Yeeah... you sorta did...)_

"Je-...bu-... RAARGH!" I held a hoof to my head as I flung it back, feeling very agitated. "What... possible...thoughts were running through your head?"

_(Well it was the only thing I could think of. It didn't help that the murderer was all I had on my mind after seeing him near the Everfree forest yesterday.)_

"...You WHAT!?" Okay, my expectations of his stupidity have finally been surpassed.

_(Hey, don't you shout at me! I kept a close eye on him, to make sure that he didn't come anywhere near Fluttershy or town! And I wasn't going to fight him either, he may have done **that.**)_

"...Even so..."

_(It was the best outcome I could accomplish. And at least we know he was heading away from everyone, that's a huge relief.)_

"Haa... I suppose you're right... So the Everfree Forest's away from town?"

_(Yeah, it's the big forest next to Fluttershy's cottage. What gets me though is that she lives right next to it despite being completely terrified of it.)_

"That... is odd, to say the least..." I dismissed the thought from my head and went back to our previous conversation. "So what did I do when you told me that the murderer was going to kill everyone?"

_(You wanted to leave and protect them.)_

I blinked in surprise, not expecting that outcome. "You mean, I didn't snap?"

_(Oh no, you were gone! You were so pissed that your horn was glowing extremely brightly, not to mention it looked like it would burn a hole through my hand if I were to touch it... But regardless, the gamble wore off. You were so angry that you started to fight professionally without any fear holding you back, not to mention that you had a good intention in the fight as well.)_

"I was that angry and I didn't want to kill you? That's... surprising. I thought that I'd want to kill to save my friends, I certainly feel that they're that important to me."

_(Oh, you wanted to kill me. But then when you had the chance to kill me, you decided not to for two reasons. First you needed me alive to escape, which was the biggest reason. And also because you saw me surrender to you, saw me accept you again and act like I used to, which made you accept me as a friend once again.)_

"Wow... that was... beyond risky. It was more stupid than anything else, actually." I didn't get a response, I take it that he's giving me the silent agreement. "So what was Step 7? Everything necessary seems to have been accomplished already."

_(Step 7 was... to lose.)_

"...Come again?"

_Step 7 of my plan to restore you was to lose.)_ He spoke with an air of confidence in his voice.

"...Why...?" I returned the air with irritance.

_(To wrap it all up, why else?)_

"You went through all that trouble fighting me, just to lose at the end... how does that make sense!?"

_(Right, let me speak out the plan as a whole. First, I need to reach the goal of you wanting to live, but I can't do that if you don't acknowledge me. And so I gave you the chance to achieve your desires and then beat you up until you were forced to acknowledge my existence, seeing as how every other method would be proven ineffective because of your emotional drop. Secondly, I needed some other emotion to take over you, a powerful emotion strong enough to crush desire, and fear came up as the only answer. So I inflicted pain on you until you were afraid of it and me, leaving after telling you that your desire could only be met with my death. Thirdly, I took absence for a while so you could recover and wake up, where I then approached you again. You still wanted to die but your fear of me started to make your resolve waver, nevertheless you still took up my challenge and fought me again, only to lose. The humiliation of losing to me twice and the anger which I started to breed in you slowly but effectively began to change your objective from dying to beating me and escaping._

_I then gave you a few days to get stronger using some quick data from my archives, taunting you from afar in the meantime. By this point in time, your anger for me would have festered quite a bit and your resolve on defeating me would have been absolute, so you were almost completely healed. But one final step was needed to bring you back fully, giving you a reason to live. At first I was going to tell you to return to your friends and be by their sides, but then I saw that the plan was being hindered by your fear of me, which I had almost completely forgotten about. So I took it a few steps early and made a gamble by creating a falsity that your friends were close to being killed by me and **him**, causing you to break your rage point and go berserk on me. This fully solidified your resolve as your ultimate intention had become you staying alive and protecting your friends. But I also needed to stay alive, otherwise you'd die, the whole thing would've been pointless, and I'd be dead. So I fought you properly until I found a suitable point to surrender, where I then laid down everything on the chance that you wouldn't kill me. And to my fortune you didn't! You simply requested that you be immediately sent out into the real world to protect your friends. And that look you had in your eyes, it was truly magnificent. Unbending determination to prevent the death of everyone associated with you, your resolve had truly been changed and you were now back to how you were! So the plan went off successfully.)_

"..." I stood there silently... looking at Ponyville from the short distance we were from it. A very uneasy feeling starting to churn my stomach...

_(Hey, at least respon-... it...feels weird...) _Ly's voice also started to show signs of uneasiness.

"I... I don't think that we should go in there... It looks... deserted..." My ears folded back onto my head as a small whimper left me.

_(Well, it **is **coming close to half five in the morning, so I doubt anypony would be up anyway. But I see your point... there's a... tense feel covering the entirety of the town... Wha- what the!?)_

"What's wrong!?"

_(Look closely, what do you see...?)_

I narrowed my eyes in to see into the town more accurately, searching for what gave Ly his freight. After a few seconds I gave up, not finding anything from my field of vision. "I don't see anything. What were you try-...ing to... Crap..."

_(Yeah... I know...)_

"Wh-where the hell are the units and the Guardians!? There's never supposed to be a gap in the schedule!" My eyes widened and my breath took itself inwards in a gasp, my shock almost becoming personified. "Could it be the murderer!? Is he in town!?"

_(I don't think so, look.) _

I looked back at Ponyville, its silence still making me feel unbearable uneasiness...

_(There's nothing going on. No panic, no celebrations. Nothing.)_

"...So there's been no trace of him?"

_(It would seem so. But...) _The next bit came out really pathetically and closer to a beg than a suggestion, _(May we take a different route? Town's still giving me the chills...)_

I responded equally as pathetically, my voice pitching upwards a little as I spoke. "Yep, a different route sounds nicer and less threatening, let's go!"

We turned East from our point outside of town, heading towards a small wooded area which was void of any Ponies and civilisation... continuing to wander around until we finally neared Applejack's farm...

* * *

After our half an hour detour, the farm finally came into sight! Well, a few hundred apple trees did anyway... Actually, now that I look beyond them... all I can see are more apple trees... and more apple trees... And so it dawned on me that we have no idea where the hell Applejack and her family were going to be.

"Ly?"

_(Uh-huh. We're lost, badly...)_

"Ahh... it's going to take hours to find our way past all of this..." I lowered my head down and started walking towards the mass of plantation that was piercing through the ground to form a wall of bark and leaves, preventing me from seeing more than a few dozen metres ahead of me.

_(Ah! Not entirely, my good friend! You're forgetting something very important that we have!)_

Gears started to slowly turn in my mind until I caught on to what Ly was getting at. "Ah, of course! How could I forget?"

_(See? We'll find it within minutes!)_

"Yup!" I stretch out my wings, making sure the muscles are properly loosened and warmed up. "We'll just fly over the trees and find the farm!"

_(Umm... do you even know how to fly? I don't have any of the data in my archives nor in the transferred files from your body's direct history and experience, so I'd take a guess that you've never flown.)_

"O-oh yeah... right..." I folded my wings back up and sat down, thinking intensely about what to do. "So what were you talking about? The important thing we have."

_(Me, of course. I can see around you for several metres and look around objects such as trees! Remember when we were stalking **him **in the market district?)_

I slammed a hoof onto my other hoof, a satisfying 'clop' sound coming from the impact. "Oh yeah! We'll be able to scout out the area at twice the normal speed!"

_(Even faster if you run through the trees. I'll take quick glances around and you run, we should come across the main living area within a few minutes of starting!)_

I stood back up, nodding my head, "Right, let's do this Ly!"

_(On your command Captain.)_

Following Ly's order I galloped off into the woods, humming a tune very similar to 'Ride of the Valkyries' as Ly began looking around for the house... or whatever they lived in...

* * *

_Apple Family home **0****5:55 A.M...**_

A few small dust ladled bars of light broke in through the tiny, tiny gaps in the boards of Applejack's bedroom wall, allowing some of the outside world to intrude into her space and mix various muffled noises from outside with the quiet breaths escaping the orange mare as she peacefully slept, a light morning breeze blowing a stray hair from her face. All of a sudden, she began to stir in her sleep, hearing faint noises from outside which she had never heard before in the morning.

"Mmn~... mnn... Arrgh... what in tarnation is that?" Applejack slowly pulled herself out of bed and made her way for the window, leaving her trademark Stetson on the nightstand next to her bed.

She reached the open window and peered outside of it. After a few seconds had passed she decided it was probably just the wind blowing past, making an odd sound. She slowly walked back to her bed, laying her tired body upon it and looking to her clock on the wall.

"Mmm... 6 O'clock? Still have another hour's rest then." She turned herself over and pulled the sheets onto herself.

She was on the verge of falling asleep again until the noises came back, but louder.

"Oh fer Pete's sake! What is it?" The Earth Pony stood out of bed and walked back to her window, this time donning her hat. She listened closely and could faintly hear the sound of hooves galloping across the grass as well as some... depressing sounding humming.

"Well who in the name ah Celestia would be runnin' around at this time ah day? Nopony's supposed to leave their houses 'cus of High Alert," She pulled the Stetson over her forehead a little bit, pondering about the identity of the guest. Suddenly her eyes widened and she stepped back from the window, "Unless it's the- *Gulp* -the **murderer...** No, don't be scared Applejack, you've gotta protect yer fam'ly! Ah'll stop that murderer right where he stands!"

She grabs a long reel of rope from a hook in her wall and leaves her bedroom, heading down the stairs and ultimately through the front door as quietly as possible as to not wake anyone up. She reached the small plot of land at the front of the house and heard the humming start up again, she quickly galloped over to the Apple Tree fields and began moving from tree row to tree row, eventually hiding behind a tree from the source of the noise, Corpus running about lost.

"Gosh, he's closer than he sounds. I'll capture 'im and force 'im ta explain 'imself, nopony comes onta ah farm with malicious intents."

She moved her head to the edge of the tree, catching a glimpse of someone's tail as they walked through the acres of trees.

"You ain't gettin' away from me..." AJ lifted the rope and began to spin it, forming a rotating loop where the knot in the rope was being spun around its circumference. She launched the lassoo over to where she had seen the pony, some shouts coming back in return as she pulled the rope and whomever she caught back to herself.

"What, where!? AHHH! I've been caught! Who did this!? HELP! HELP ME!"

She stopped pulling on the rope at the sound of the voice, dropping it from her mouth and walking over inquisitively. "Wait a minute, that voice is..." The mare walked around the side of the tree to where the rope's anchor was, jumping back ever so slightly at who she saw laying on the floor with their legs bound by her rope, before taking another step forward again. "Wha- Corpus! What're Y'all doing here this early!? Yer not supposed to be here 'til eight!"

He turned his head around, seeing the country Pony stood a few feet away from him. "A-Applejack? Why did you tie me up?" His face contorted slightly as he quietly started to whimper, the surprise attack clearly scaring him to the point of crying.

"'Cus Ah thought you were tha murderer! And why were ya humming that morbid tune? Anypony woulda thought you were a suspicious character fer jes' that, yet alone walking around their home whilst doing so." She gave him a stupified expression as she tried to make sense of things, soon sighing and calming herself down significantly before speaking again. "So why're you here so early? Yer not s'posed ta get here fer another 2 or so hours."

Corpus, held his mouth shut and sniffed, forcing back the tears that almost came out from his scare. "W-well... Ly said that it'd be best if we came early, seeing as how we'd probably be working on the farm and all. So we left Fluttershy's a while ago to get here for work."

AJ furrowed a brow and raised the other, speaking in a calm manner and feeling a small wave of tiredness begin to creep over her, "Well that's fine an' all, but who's Ly? Ah thought only you were stayin' at Fluttahshy's?"

His ears pricked up and his pupils shrank as a shocked expression cracked onto his face, he had said something he should've kept a secret.

"U-uh... I mean...er... L-Ly is-" He cut himself off as AJ opened her mouth.

Applejack let out a small yawn, walking past Corpus as she made her way back to the house. "Do ya think y'all could tell me later, sugah? Ah'm a mite tired right now, waking up early an' findin' ya 'n' all." She gave him a tired smile, showing she really wanted to get back to bed.

"A-ah, yeah... sure..." He watched as Applejack turned her head and lead the way back to the house, before realising something of great importance. "W-wait, Applejack!"

She turned her head, silently asking for what he needed with nothing but a stare.

"Do you think you could... you know, untie me?" He tried moving one of his legs, only to have no avail in the slightest.

She blushed slightly, not realising her lack of sleep had made her forget something so obvious, "Y-yeah, let me get you outta that."

She walked over to the bound Alicorn and hesitantly lowered her head, beginning to loosen the rope about his limbs. As she was doing this, Corpus' eyes began to wander about the mare's body, seeing as how it was so close to him. He could feel a small level of heat begin to build in his cheeks as his mind started to process what it was seeing, his cheeks hinting a darker red as AJ brought her head closer to his under-side as she tried to undo some heavy knots in the rope. His eyes going into overtime as more of her body was revealed to him close-up, until he noticed a mark on her flank... three red apples.

"There, all done." She took herself back to her previous stand and quickly turned around, Corpus not even catching a glimpse of her face. "We should head back, there's sleep ta be had." She began to walk briskly back to the house, Corpus following from a meter or two behind her.

He walked up closer to her and brought up his left fore-leg, planting it on her flank where her cutie mark was. Causing her to instantly shoot up on the spot and freeze in her tracks, Corpus ignored this as he took it as her being frightened of his sudden hoof placement. "So the government got you too huh? What do they want you to do? I mean, three apples is a little vague..."

Her lip twitched and her face fell into a deep red hue, not moving or responding for several seconds. After a few moments, Corpus removed his hoof and made his way to the mare's side, catching a small glimpse of her face before she turned her head and began to walk away.

"D-don't y'all worry none, it's nuttin' really. We've gotta get back though, sleep's ta be had an' all." As she walked her legs started to shake violently, causing her balance to weaken significantly.

"H-hey, are you alright?" Corpus quickly galloped to her, "Your legs are shaking like hell, do you want me to carry you?"

"No! Ah'm alright!" She pushed forwards again, losing balance and almost falling over a few steps later.

Corpus' movements stuttered slightly at the sight of AJ almost toppling over, he quickly regained himself and ran to the young mare's side to help her. AJ simply brushed off his offer for help and continued on at her previous pace, her legs still shaking violently underneath her.

_G-gosh darnit! Why'd he have ta go an' do that!? Jes' what does he think he's tryin' ta do? There's nopony who doesn't know that it's bad to do stuff like that around this time!_ She took in a deep breath through her nose and breathed out again, calming herself slightly. _C'mon Applejack. Get a grip. He may have fergotten, there's always that. After all, he's Twahlight's guy. There's no way he'd have bad intentions. Ah've jes' gotta sleep is all, Ah'm nearing mah breaking point so some sleep'll do me good. If it hasn't died down by morinin' then I'll jes' hafta do that again..._

She carried on walking, gradually approaching the house with Corpus lugging behind, being sure to stay back and keep his mouth closed to give her space as they neared her home.

* * *

_Apple house, **06:01**_** A.M...**

We reached her house very quickly, even though the silence made it feel like hours.

AJ pushed open the door and walked in, quickly turning her head to me and urging me inside before returning her vision to the inside of her house.

_ (Come on, lighten up! You didn't mean anything, so stop feeling down.)_

_I know I didn't but, I still feel guilty for doing it anyway. I mean, look at how she's acting! Her legs won't stop shaking and she was a furious red earlier! I don't know what's going on, but this definitely isn't the same Applejack that I know._

_(Mmm... even so, nothing will get done if you're depressed. You'll have to be more energetic for work in an hour or two, so cheer up a little. Tell her what happened then, I'm sure she'll understand.)_

_I-I suppose I could..._

_(Yeah, see? That's the spirit! Keep that on mind when you see her after your sleep!)_

_Huh? After my sleep? But I'm not-_

My eyes shot open, amazed by what I saw. "H-how the hell did I get here?" I looked around and saw that I was in a bedroom, I must've been daydreaming pretty hard to get here without noticing...

_(Applejack literally just left, where you not paying attention?)_

"N-no... not really..."

_(Mmn... never mind. Just head to sleep and forget about it, you'll feel much better when you wake up. Trust me, you need it.)_

_...Haa... I'll do my best,_ I walked over to the bed and sat on it, feeling an indescribable pleasure rise through my waist and back.

I realised just how tired my body actually was as I landed on the mattress, feeling my body lay itself down under the sheets and begin to relax itself. I could feel myself slowly drifting back off to sleep, trying to pry the guilt from my mind as I lost consciousness...

* * *

**Haa... finally finished this tedious and boring Chapter... I'm not even excited that it has 8.5K words... =.=**

**I am so sorry about how boring it was, so I hope the dry comedy helped compensate a little?**

**Anyway, next chapter has Clop! :D *Firework, firework* **

**Also, I'm at my father's house for a week with my step 'relatives' (Hate grouping them as family, don't ask why. Not for my sake, but for your's...) and so I may not get another Chapter out until Friday or Saturday :/ Well, except for 21, that'll be up tomorrow or Weds =D**

**Anywho, review on the good, the bad (Especially this one, vent it a~ll out :3) and the myeh!**

**Bye bi!**


	21. Chapter 21: The 11th Day: Farmyard Heat

**Author's note:**

**Important stuff finished with! ...Well, almost. It'll be truly finished tomorrow afternoon, but even then there's  
not much of it left =D**

**Onto a subject relevent to the Chapter... I really, really liked writing this one! You'll most likely find out why whilst reading (Or from the warning...), so I hope you'll enjoy reading it just as much! ^^**

* * *

**Warning!**

**This chapter contains decent levels of Clop, do not read before grabbing some tissues, ham or whatever else floats your boat ;) And be sure to wash up, nothing worse than a bad smell.**

**Also, I'm unsure about the level of description in this chapter. I'm a little wary that it may come close to the MA line, but I  
lack the capability of toning it down without destroying the effect :/ Here's hoping that it isn't as graphic as I'm imagining it is...**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Applejack's house, Corpus' Room, **0****7:14 A.M...**_

I slowly and tiredly opened my eyes, revealing a quaint little room to me that seemed rather... barnish? I don't think that's the word but, oh well. The walls, ceiling and floor were all made from light brown wooden planks, some of the walls and the floor being obscured by decorative pictures, my cloak or a rug, giving the room a more homely feel. There was also a small wooden nightstand next to me with a small lamp on it and a vase with some daisies poking their way outside of it. I was also on quite a comfortable bed with a simple yet effectively good looking wooden frame.

I begin to stretch out my limbs as I hear the latch on the door go, the door itself then opening up to reveal a visitor. The Orange mare walked into the room and looked at me, smiling a little when she saw me stretching. "G'mornin' Sugahcube. How'd ya sleep?"

I chuckled a little at her smile, feeling as if it were a small piece of banter. "Pretty good, it felt much longer than it actually was though. Although I'm not complaining!" I let out a small laugh as I brought my hoof to the back of my head, rubbing the reverse of my mane a little.

"It would be a lil' strange ta wanna sleep only a lil' bit, the more ya get tha better Ah say." She took a few steps towards me and stopped at the nightstand.

"I hear you there!" I moved my hoof to my front again, "Sleeping wouldn't be any fun if it only lasted for a few seconds, with you waking up only a little rejuvenated afterwards." I pulled the sheets off myself slightly so I could get out of bed.

"S-say, Corpus?" Applejack brushed her hoof across the floor, looking down rather timidly before looking at my eyes, showing me an increasingly reddening face.

I instantly felt myself become nervous, her close to begging or crying look really striking into me as extremely cute. "Y-yeah? What do you need?"

She took a few steps closer until she was stood a mere two or so foot away from me, averting her eyes from me and her blush still remaining on her cheeks. "Well yesterday, when Ah was untying yer ropes..."

_Ah crap... I think I know where this is going... _I felt a small gulp run down my throat as beads of sweat began to form on my forehead. "Y-yeah...?"

Her blush grew a little more wildly, making it seem like her face was close to burning. "W-well, Ah couldn't help but notice that you were, uh... lookin' at me sorta... closely..." Her eyes quickly darted to me and away again.

_This isn't going where I thought it would, this is worse! How did she know that I was looking at her like that!?_ "I-I may have done a little... but not a lot! It was, uh... kind of a quick glance, sorta..."

"...So, what did'ya think?" Her redness continued to intensify slightly every time she asked about the subject, her eyes quickly turned back to me after a blink.

"U-uhh, about...what?"

"Me, mah body. Or what ya saw of it anyways." Her eyes gazed down to her side a little as she spoke, clearly not feeling very comfortable.

"U-uh..." _What the hell do I say!? If I say that I didn't really think anything then she might get into a strange mood, but if I say that it was good then she might take it the wrong way! Arrgh! There's no solution to this!_

Applejack quickly glanced up at me and away again, feeling uneasy about waiting for an answer.

_Okay, okay, calm down Corpus. Think, what would the best outcome be? She seems a little uneasy and slightly expectant, so thought nothing = Disappointed and ruined friendship. I liked the look of it...Dear god I sound like a pervert... Come on, there must be another solution! ...Ah! I could just say I was looking at something like a mark! Her governmental mark!_

"I was, uh... looking at your... governmental mark."

She looked up at me quickly, her eyes wide open in surprise. Her blush fell a little more heavily as she turned her head from me, her lips forming into an odd deformity of a smile.

"O-of course... A-ah don't know what Ah was thinkin'." She turned around and began to leave, her head being slightly closer to the ground than usual, "Ah'm sorry fer disturbin' you, I'll be leaving you ta get ready."

_Crap, no! you messed it up! She's upset again! Quick Corpus, fix it fix it fix it!_

"A-...Actually that's not true!" _Oh, great work... Now what do you say!?_

AJ stopped and turned her head, a small sense of surprise on her face. "W-what...?"

"What I just said... was a lie..." _Oh come on... think of something!_

She turned the rest of he body to face me, a slightly angry look on her face. "So what did ya mean ta say? An' tell me tha truth, I don't wanna hear it if it's only ta make me feel better." She took another bold step towards me, using it as a form of intimidation to force the truth out of me.

A very audible gulp rang out from my throat, the sweat on my forehead growing in production speed. _Cra~p! I'm being pushed into a corner here! I can't tell her the truth, that'll creep her out so much! She'll probably kick me off the farm and tell all the others what a pervert I am! But, her eyes, _I look back into her glistening emerald eyes, seeing a repressed pleading look within them. I didn't know what to think about that. She was clearly pushing for the truth no matter what it was, but she was also...hoping for something...

I took a deep breath in and let it back out again, looking her straight in the eyes as I felt my face turn tomato red. "The truth is, that I liked the look...of your body." _What are you doing!? That's it! Off the farm with us!_ I couldn't help but avert my gaze not even half way through, it was too embarrassing to say something that personal!

I heard nothing from the mare, only silence remained between us. After a few seconds I heard hoof-steps approach me. I shifted my head slightly until I could see half of Applejack's body, shifting my head a little further towards her I could see the rest of her. She had a small smile hiding timidly on her lips, a harshly red blush covering her cheeks and a serene gaze softly emerging from her eyes. "I-is that... the honest truth?"

_There's no going back now, you've already confessed to it. _"Yep, it's the honest truth." I met her gaze, a pain arising in my stomach as our eyes melted into the other's stare.

Her smile only grew, until it could be clearly seen displayed on her face. She then closed the gap between us and placed her head against my stomach and moved it up to the groove in my neck, snuggling herself closer to me. "Then, do ya... wanna see more?" Her voice sounded somewhat uncertain, but somehow alluring.

I felt a warm feeling in my chest take over as her words made their way to my brain and the fact that she was pressed against me became blatantly apparent. But... I do. I want to see more. "Yes, I want to see more of you, Applejack." I pulled my head away from her and looked at her deep into her emerald pools of clarity, seeing a timid spark flicker inside of them.

"O-okay," She nudged me back with her head, causing me to lose balance and fall off my haunches and onto my back, leaving my legs hanging off the long side of the bed.

She slowly climbed onto the bed and stood over me, my eyes falling down her underside and taking note of her figure. I began to feel a strong sense begin to push its way forwards inside of me as my eyes continued to drift. My cheeks began to glow even brighter as I continued my inspection of the Cowpony stood above me, until eventually my eyes came back up to meet hers. But before I could catch so much of a glimpse of her eyes, a soft sensation pressed itself against my lips and caused me to enter a small high. I returned the kiss eagerly to Applejack, whose body heat I could feel emanating from her and onto me. Several moments passed and our kiss deepened, our tongues now dancing with the other in a salivary serenade inside of our mouths, both of us completely lost in the moment with each other. After a few more seconds she pulled away, a small strand of saliva connecting our tongues as our eyes met again, becoming lost in the other's green expanse. Applejack sat back and perched her rump on my waist.

I was quickly brought back to Earth as I felt a good, hot feeling being aroused at my waist, during our kiss I had become 'excited' without realising. Only now knowing as Applejack sat back and sent a small wave of stimulation coursing through it. She quickly blushed and looked between her legs, moving them apart slightly to see my erect member laying at her base.

"Heh, now it's mah turn ta see more of you, Sugah." She stepped off of the bed backwards and lay her fore-legs down at my waist, her head coming up to my hardened penis as she looked at it, seemingly intrigued by the sexual tool. "Does it feel good when Ah do this?"

She opened her mouth and let her tongue land at my dick's base, before it slowly slithered its way up the back of it and to the tip, where she flicked it off and brought it back down again, holding her head sideways somewhat as to allow the proper movements. My waist bent inwards as her soft, wet tongue sent tiny waves of pleasure to ripple up my dick and into my waist. She chuckled slightly at the sight of me moving to her actions.

She brought her tongue and head back up, looking at me with a strong feeling of lust, "Ah guess it does. Now," She climbed back onto the bed and lay along its longer side on her back, revealing the entirety of her underside to me. "Could ya do me next?"

I felt pretty disappointed that my turn of being pleasured had been so short and now it was her turn already, but regardless I sat up from my position and readily put myself between her legs, staring at her moist marehood. _Wow, it's dripping wet. Did she really get that turned on just by doing that to me? _"Hehe... looks like you're looking forward to this a little." I looked up from her loin and gave her a sly smile, getting a mixed response of slight embarrassment and the urge to start from the now very much horny Applejack.

Nodding, I get to work on her soaking slit. I run my tongue softly along its opening folds and earn a very small and quiet moan from Applejack, making me feel a little happy and accomplished. Wanting to see how much noise I could get out of her, I ran my tongue a little harder against her and pushed past her labia and onto her vulva, forcing a much louder piece of audible proof to escape her lips. Getting carried away with having fun making her moan and groan, I began to pick up the licking speed and strength bit by bit, until she was now biting her lip as to not let out enough noise to alert the others.

"So, how does it feel?" I kept my head where it was as I spoke, hiding my grin beneath her marehood.

Some words left her in between small gasps for breath, I was only just able to make out the sentence she was trying to construct. "Y-yeah... please... don't stop... yet..."

Following her request, I buried my mouth and tongue back into her soft and dripping vagina, brushing it against her many folds and bringing her new levels of pleasure as I did so. As I ran my tongue down her opening, my nose bumping against something. Something which made her fully open her mouth and let out a dangerously loud gasp of pure pleasure. Intrigued, I pulled away and looked at where I might have touched to get such a good reaction from her. I placed my tongue where it was during her moan and ran it past roughly again, earning yet another arousing moan from her, but not the one I was after. I took my head back and took another quick glance, before remembering that my nose had brushed past a certain point. I moved my mouth to where I thought my nose had been and gave her another strong brush, hitting a small bump at the top of her vagina.

"Mnaa~!" AJ's waist spasmed and her back arched as I hit the point which I was searching for. Her back kept bending inwards for two short bursts until she laid back flat out, panting heavily.

I pull my mouth away and sit up, looking at her hot body as she tried to regain her breath. I smiled and spoke in a rather smug tone. "Good enough?"

"Haa...haa... O-oh shush you... Bet Ah could do better..." She gave me a satisfied smile on top of a beam of unmatchable joy.

I move over to her body until I was stood directly above her, speaking again in a very smug voice. "Would you care to prove that?"

She gave a a sly grin before our lips made contact again, our tongues battling for dominance in the other's mouth. As we engaged in a long kiss, I moved my body closer to hers and brought my stiff member onto her spot, making her rise in place and break apart from the kiss. I carefully straddled myself over her waist and lowered myself onto her, making sure that my aim wasn't going off target. I reached her marehood and started poking into it slowly, a small gasp escaping her.

"Mmn... Corpus..."

I gaze deep into her eyes as I'm about to penetrate her.

"Corpus!"

A small unsettling feeling nestles itself in me as she says my name a little too much. "Uh... yeah?"

"CORPUS!"

* * *

_(CORPUS!)_

"WAAH!" I shoot forwards, sitting up and having small beads of sweat on my face. My brain takes a second to fully take in what just happened, before finally making the links and directing some anger towards the entity in my head. "Ly! What the hell!? I was having an amazing dream before you-"

_(Shut up! Look to your left! It's urgent!)_

"What...?" Heeding the scared voice inside of my head, I look bitterly towards the doorway. My throat turns dry and my pupils dilate from the figure stood at the entrance to my room. Applejack, the mare I was just fantasizing about was stood there, pulling her hat over her red face a little as her eyes glanced to the side of her head.

"O-oh, yer awake. A-Ah jes' came in ta wake you up but- er... Ah can see that Ah don't n-need to do that anymore. We'll be waitin' outside if y-ya need anythin'. See ya!" She quickly left my room and closed the door with her tail, leaving no time for me to reply to her.

"Just... what was that about? Wait a minute," I made a weak connection in my head to the dream I had, "Could she like me!?"

Ly gave me a very unsettling silence, the feeling of despair leaking into my mind from his. _(No... that's not the case in the slightest...)_

"What do you mean? Didn't you see her blush? She started blushing and turned really shy as soon as she realised that I had found her sneaking into my room! If that isn't a sign then I don't know what is."

_(That's... not the case...)_

"Then would you mind telling me what _is _the case then?"

_(Well...)_

I felt my blood run a little cold as Ly directed my eyes around, telling me several things about what happened. I also started to sweat bullets as he started to explain what happened, making my heart fall deep into my chest...

"CRAP!"

* * *

_Outside in the Northern Apple Field, 12 minutes ago..._

"Phew, I feel much better after a bit of sleep an' work!" Applejack threw a full basket of juicy red apples onto a nearby cart that was almost full of full baskets full of full apples and walked around to its front, attaching its latch onto her back. "Now ta get you apples to the barn." She began walking at a steady but strong pace towards the giant wooden structure to deposit the fruits of her labour, Big Mac bucking trees as she passed with Applebloom picking up any apples that missed the baskets and putting them in. After entering the barn, depositing the apples, and walking back out, the Orange mare brought the now empty cart to her older brother and released her back from its leash.

"Ah'm jes' gonna wake up Corpus now, Ah'll be back out in a few minutes. When Ah bring him back, do ya want ta help get him accustomed to his work?"

"Eeyup. Jus' leave it to me." The red work horse gave her a stone reply as he gazed almost lazily at the basket he reached for, promptly lifting it into the cart.

AJ gave him a nod and proceeded to the house, soon reaching the front door and entering her abode. Once inside, she began to climb the stairs and came to stop outside of Corpus' room before opening the door, soon realising the soon-to-be situation.

"W-wait a minute, Ah can't jes' waltz in there!" She took a step back from the door, shaking her head a little to clear her mind. "Phew, that was close. Almost forgot about heat an' all, that wouldn't have ended well..." She placed a hoof on her face and lifted her head, removing her hoof and looking at the door. "Right, c'mon Applejack. Jes' think about nothin' but _that_..."

The mare picked up her hoof and hit the door with it twice, making sure to keep the hits light so she didn't make too much noise. She slowly pushed the door open and put her head inside almost cautiously.

"Corpus. It's time ta get up."

After getting no response, she pushed the door open fully and walked in. She saw the Alicorn laying in bed on his back, a stupid smile plastered on his face. Applejack's body stiffened as a shiver slipped down her spine. She lowered her head in frustration and closed her eyes, speaking in a harsh whisper.

"G-gosh darnit! Think! Granny Smith shavin' her legs, Granny Smith shavin' her legs!" AJ's body shivered with horror, quelling the rising temptation that had begun to build. "Haah... this is too much trouble than what it's worth..." She brought her head back up and looked at Corpus, raising an eyebrow to the sight at which she was given. "Wha-... what in tarnation?" Applejack took a few steps closer to Corpus' bed, keeping her eyes locked on a bump in the bed sheet. "Is he hiding something in there?"

She grabbed a hold of the corner of Corpus' quilt with her mouth and flung it off of him, revealing his body down to his hind-hooves. She took a quick look back at Corpus, her face flooding with red as she jumped back and stared at what was seemingly staring at her. An erect penis.

She felt a strong heat wash through her face, as well as her legs begin to shake with anticipation as a hot feeling began to brew between them. She closed her eyes and looked away. "No! Calm down Applejack, jus' ignore it." She opened one eye and peeked back at it. Feeling her sanity beginning to drain away from her thoughts, she closed her eye and looked away again. "No! You won't! You've gone yer whole life without it, you can sure as sugah go another few days! Come on." She turned her body away from Corpus and tried lifting her fore-legs, only for them to anchor themselves to the floor. "Ah said, come on!" She forced a surge of strength into her legs and managed to pry them of the ground and make her way towards the door, feeling increasingly light-headed as the burning sensation continued to grow stronger. "Ugh... Ah have ta hurry. If Ah don't then-"

"WAAH!"

Applejack quickly turned her head around to face Corpus as a loud scream made its way from him to me.

_T-tartar sauce! Ah-...Ah'm beginning to lose it..! Must... leave..._ AJ began to turn until Corpus' voice came back again, keeping her body stationery with entrancement. Suddenly Corpus looks in her direction, almost as if he knew she was already there. _Wah! _She pulled part of her Stetson over her face, trying to divert her eyes from the brown stallion sat in bed with his member fully functional and exposed.

"O-oh, yer awake. A-Ah jes' came in ta wake you up but- er... Ah can see that Ah don't n-need to do that anymore. We'll be waitin' outside if y-ya need anythin'. See ya!" AJ quickly left the room, shutting the door with her tail and running into the hallway, making her way through another door on the house's far side. She desperately closed the door and stood at the entrance to a bathroom.

"CRAP!"

She turned her head slightly to the door behind her and heard Corpus' curse leak though the door, his voice causing her to become unsettled again as she was near her breaking point.

"No... Ah won't give in... ta temptation!" She briskly staggered over to the bath tub and accidentally knocked her hat onto the floor, fumbling as she turned the tap for water to start flowing from it. Cold water. "Why is it now outta all the times Ah've gone into heat that Ah'm losing it!?"

As she sat there waiting for the tub to fill with freezing cold water, her hoof began to take it upon itself to ease her nerves. It made its way down to her marehood without her knowledge, pausing before her slit as it positioned itself in just the right place.

She gazed at the rising water, seeing that it was soon going to be at its desired point. "Good, now Ah jes' need ta cool down in this whilst thinkin' of Granny Smith an' Ah should be good fer a few hours. Hopefu-!"

Her body stiffened as a shockwave of pleasure raged through her lower parts and into her waist. She shakily looked down to see that she was sub-consciously tending to her needs. Her hoof continued to make small circular motions about her opening, making her back arch in very slightly and causing her waist to give miniscule spasms as each wave of pleasure hit her.

"N-no... please stop... A-Ah need ta hurry an' get ta work. Jes'- Ahh!"

The orange mare flung her head back in ecstasy, her lower half becoming hotter and hotter as her hoof continued its relentless assault, giving her not even a moment to collect her thoughts. Suddenly, she moved her hoof to the very top of her vagina, stimulating her clitoris with her circular motions and pushing herself all the way to release, covering her hoof in her fluids as she let out a strained moan. She lowered her head, panting as she did. She opened her eyes to see that the bath was getting close to full.

"Ah, no! Stop runnin'!" She scrambled to her hooves and shakily leaned over the bath, turning the running tap off. She sighed and lowered her head, feeling relieved at stopping it in time.

"Phew, at least it didn't overfill with water. That wouldn' a ended nicely..." After contemplating at the water for a few seconds, AJ stood herself up and placed a leg into the bath, instantly drawing it back and shivering. "Brrr! That sure is cold. Alright Applejack, jes' hop in. Don' worry about the cold, it'll help ya get through this." Closing her eyes and preparing for a shock, AJ quickly dunked herself into the bath, spilling some water over the side as she tried to hold in a scream. After much wasted effort, it rang out through the room and most likely through the door too...

* * *

_Main upper hallway, 1 minute ago..._

"Geez... that was hell..." I re-open my bedroom door and walk out.

_(It wasn't that bad, you just had to figure out how to d-)_

"I'm not talking about that! Although that was bad too..." I hung my head low in humiliation as I used my magic to close my door.

_(Oh yeah... that part. Well if you want, I could start trying to limit how horny you become when seeing certain things.)_

"...You... can do that?"

_(Well, it's a little difficult due to this having only one stick and no L's or R's. But it should be possible.)_

"Okay... why didn't you try it earlier!?"

_(I was scared crapless! Applejack just walked in, saw your dick and then turned really red! There was nothing I could do!)_

"...I guess you're right, I'm sorry. I'm just a little on edge about what happened. It's messed up so much now..." I place a hoof to my brow, trying to calm my unnecessarily high nerves.

_(Well, look on the bright side. Nothing overly bad happened, and she didn't kick you out! You still have a chance to make it up to her!)_

"Mmm... yeah, I suppose. But first I need to be presented with an opportunity to make it up to her with.

Suddenly a loud splash rung out from the room across the hall, followed shortly by a scream.

The metaphorical gears inside of my head began to kick themselves into overdrive, "Applejack!" I rushed to the door, pushing it open with my hooves as my frantic eyes fell upon the mare that had me worried. Only... she was in the bath tub...naked... She turned around quickly to see me stood at the doorway.

A strong heat burst onto my face and into my cheeks as I averted my eyes. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to intrude! I heard a splash and a scream and then-"

"I-i-it's o-okay C-C-Corpus..." A shivering voice left Applejack, making her sound like a completely different pers- pony. Really got to get my head around this terminology.

I open one eye partially and turn my head towards her again, trying not to peep. "A-...are you shivering? Are you bathing in cold water?"

"Y-y-yeah, j-jes' a b-bit. It's t-t-ta...uh-h... r-relax m-mah m-m-muscles f-fer work!" Her shivering was really breaking up her sentences and making it a bit harder to understand her. "A-and w-w-why're y-ya lookin' aw-way?"

What? That should be obvious! "Because you're naked, that's why!"

She just gave me a rather concerned stare. "...C-Corpus?"

"Mm-hm?"

"W-We don' g-g-gen'rally w-wear clothes. W-we're pon-nies."

My eyes rolled open, a feeling of sheer stupidity brewing itself in my being as the best derp face in history was made, right here in this bathroom. I slowly turned, my amazing expression fading away as I brought Applejack into view. "...I knew that, I was just testing you."

_(Nice response, nopony saw that coming from a mile away.)_

_Quiet you, it was the only thing that came to mind! ...Wait a second, why didn't you tell me that we don't wear clothes!?_

_(Are you listening to yourself right now? Because it's quite funny!)_

_Just, please stop mocking me. I'm not really all for it right now..._

_(Sure, sorry... Hm? What was that?)_

_Who're you talking t-_

_(Sorry Corpus, I've gotta go. Someone needs me for a thing.)_

_*Beep beep beep... Your call has been disconnected*_

_...What...? Who's voice is this? Why the hell is there an answering machine in my head!?_

jAs I ponder about the wonder that is my mind, I catch a glimpse of the end of a certain pony's sentence.

_ Ah, cripes! Applejack! Forgot to pay atte-_

"W-well A-Ah guess A-A-Ah pass yer t-test." She sat there, no noise between us other than her shivering.

I just stood there in awkward silence as a response, not moving or making any general action worth mentioning... After a few more awkward moments I decided to speak up. Feeling unsure about what to say, I just said the first thing that'd get me out of here. "So I'm going to get to work now..."

"Ah, g-good t-timing. B-B-Big M-Macintosh could u-use a lil-il' help b-by tha n-northern field, since Ah-Ah'm not o-out t-there t-t-ta help him."

Yes! Escape! "Right," I turn to the door, stopping almost immediately as I face it. I turn back around, looking a little embarrassed. "Where's the Northern field?"

"J-jes' go a-an' w-w-ait ou-uts-side, B-Big M-Mac should b-b-be there pr-re-e-etty soon." Those shivers are really starting to worry me...

"Alright." I turn and walk out the door, looking in before closing it, "See ya." The cold mare simply nodded as I closed the door, starting my way to getting outside.

After the door had closed, Applejack let out a tired sigh and lowered her head as her body vibrated and started to get warm, making her voice much more stable as she became quickly adjusted to the slightly heightened temperature. "This is killin' me..." She opened her eyes and looked at her reflection on the water's surface, "Ah really hope that Ah'm not gonna need ta do this fer the next few days. Mah heat's never been this bad before, Ah usually have it under control and don' so much as think of doin' anything..." She sat there, pondering about her recent outbreak of temptations. "...Maybe Ah've been pentin' it up fer too long... After all, the last time before this was three years ago."

She glanced at the chain connecting the plug to the side of the bath, staring at it for a short while before surrendering her thought and knocking it with her hoof, setting the plug free and making the water drain away. Once the water had reached a very low level she brought her hoof to herself again, gently starting to give herself some release.

"If Ah get rid of you now, will you leave me be fer the rest of the season?" She stared down at herself as her breathing slowly became more audible, biting her lip as she constantly brought herself to release bit by bit. Continuing on for a while, whilst trusting Corpus to help keep her workload low.

* * *

I made my way outside and into the bright sunlight, the warm waves lathering my body as it acceptingly absorbed their heat. I didn't have to wait long, after just under a minute a big, red stallion walked into the barn with a cart full of apples, coming back out a moment or two later with the cart's contents no longer existing.

"Hey!" I call to him as I trot over, grabbing his attention. I stop in front of him and adjust my head's gradient slightly, looking up at a slight angle to be able to look into his half-opened eyes. "Are you Big Mac?"

"Eeyup." A deep voice left him as his expression didn't change, he just stared at me silently.

"Umm... okay? Applejack told me that you could show me what to do for work and that I should wait here for you to return from the Northern fields, so can I come along with you?"

"Eeyup." He continued his stare for a second before turning, his lazy-looking eyes still not changing in the slightest.

_This is... weird..._

I began to walk after him, catching up a bit as the workhorse pulled the large cart behind him.

_...Ly? Hellooo...?_

I received no reply, my conscious voice being the only one present in my head.

_...Oh yes, of course! Ly went... somewhere to... do...something... What could he possibly be doing in anywhere other than my head!? He **exists** there, he has nowhere to go!_

"So, are ya strong?" Big Mac didn't look back as he addressed me with a question, he simply kept his eyes fixed on the path ahead of him.

"Uhh... somewhat, I suppose?" I honestly don't really know...

"Yer gonna need ta be ta get this work done, ain't no room fer not having the strength ta keep up."

This is... making me slightly anxious. He couldn't really have something very difficult planned, could he?

"I should be strong enough. Or the work shouldn't be too hard, anyway." I catch up to him a bit, walking alongside him as to make conversation easier.

"Have ya ever woked on a farm before?" He turned his head toward me very slightly. In fact, I wouldn't have noticed that he did if I wasn't paying such close attention to him.

"Um..."

_Hmm... I don't think I have. I certainly haven't since I've been here, but I may have done whilst I was human... But I d-! Argh!_

I closed one eye and gritted my teeth in pain, but I don't think that Mac noticed. He's still walking even though I've almost stopped. Another surge of pain whisked its way through my brain. I hold a hoof to my head to try and focus away from the pain.

_M-...my head... it hurts..._

My vision started to fade slightly, leaving behind a bunch of blurs as I saw the workhorse carry on without me. I put my hoof to the round and tried to take another step, only to lose all sense of balance and fall over. The last thing I saw before my vision went completely was the dirt on the ground beneath me... my sight's now gone, my consciousness soon following...

* * *

_Uggh... again...? Why... why does remembering hurt so much...? Guh! My retinas!_

A bright, white light flooded the space in front of me, hurting my eyes as it appeared out of nowhere. I close them and save myself the burning torture, a small amount of pain still stinging them. A few seconds passed and the light intensity making it way past my eyelids toned down exponentially. I cautiously open my eyes and gaze upon a blurry image that had appeared in the light's place.

_W-what...? There's an image...? Mm... I can't really... make out what it is..._

The image had focused a bit, removing a small amount of the earlier fuzziness. I focused my eyes and could barely make out a partially accurate interpretation of what was before me.

_I-is that a... shed? No... it's a little too big..._

"Come on! You won't be able to get all of this done if you don't pick up the pace!"

_Wah! Wha-... oh... It's only a voice... Wait, I recognise this one... but from where...? ...No... I can't remember..._

"Please stop that Tachida-san, he's got quite a bit there."

_This one too! I know both of these voices! But whose are they...? Arrgh... I can't remember for the life of me!_

"He's quite strong though, look. He's carrying all seven bags by himself, Even I have trouble with that load."

"Then you should understand that it's a little hard to move quickly with such a large amount weighing you down."

"Well the best thing to d-..."

_...What? What's going on? Did the power get cut...? The image is stil- WAH!_

The faint image disappeared into darkness again, leaving me with no visual or audio perceptions...

_Aww... Even the picture? So is...this..._

My voice began to slur as my head became heavy and sluggish, making me fade in and out of consciousness until my body surrendered itself to the promises of sleep. Losing consciousness, my dream ends...

* * *

_...mmn, huh...?_

I slowly and sleepily open my eyes, seeing a sideways view of Big Mac kicking a tree, and all of the visible apples just fell out and into the baskets at its base... There's even apples that weren't visible from the outside in there...

I slowly lift myself off the ground and stand on all fours, looking at Big Mac with half-dazed eyes almost matching his own. "Mm... I'm so drowsy..." I start to slowly walk up to him, trying to wake myself up on the way. "That was a weird dream... It seemed like a memory but... it didn't tell me anything..."

Big Mac turned his head as he heard my low mumbling come closer. Pulling back his leg, he bucked the tree and caused another rainfall of apples to plummet from within the tree's branches and land perfectly in the baskets laid out by the trees roots.

"Good ta see yer awake. How was yer nap?" The red stallion picked up a basket and brought it to the half full cart...wow, I must've been asleep for a while for him to get this much done!

I chuckled nervously under my breath, still not feeling fully operative. "It was... odd. I'm not sure why I fell asleep, but I don't feel any more refreshed from beforehand. In fact, I feel sluggish instead." I ended up yawning from tiredness, making my eyes start to water and my ears fall down onto my head.

"Well Ah can't help you there, but Ah can teach y'all how ta buck a tree." He went back to the tree after depositing the basket, bending his neck down to reach another one.

"O-oh yeah... I was supposed to be helping, wasn't I?" A wave of guilt washed over me, giving my ears a second reason to limp from atop of my head.

"Don' worry 'bout it. When the body needs somethin', there's no helpin' it. Jus' need ta do what it needs." He went back to picking up the basket and brought it over to the cart, making another depository of harvest. "Come here." He moved his head towards a tree, insinuating that I should head towards that specific one.

Nodding, I follow him to the designated tree. He stops in front of it and pulls a leg to his stomach, flexing it outwards with a lot of force until it hits the tree trunk. A loud rustling of leaves could be heard as dozens of apples suddenly dropped from the tiny canopy and into the prepared containers, leaving me gob-smacked.

"Wha-..."

Big Mac turned his head to me, his usual expression not changing in the slightest. Save for the inclined eyebrow as if to try to make his face seem more inquisitive... it didn't really work.

"D-did you just... knock all of them out with one leg...?" I instantly fell dubious to his feat, something that shouldn't be physically possible just happened before me...

"Eeyup. Although strength ain't tha only thing that decides how well ya do, there's a matter of technique, precision, an' estimation." Didn't expect that to come out of his mouth.

"So... what is this technique? Do you think you could teach me?"

"Y'all can only learn it through complicated methods an' equations if y'all are new to it, so we're gonna teach you through experience." Seriously, how much of his intellect does he keep hidden behind those eyes?

"I-...I see... I think..." Hopelessly lost, I need a briefer explanation as to what he's getting at.

"In short, y'all jus' need ta practise. Unless ya a mathematical genius, then Ah'll write up tha formula."

No formulas! "No thanks, experience sounds good enough. Much easier to understand than predictions, accuracy and the lot." I gave him a sheepish grin as I unanimously chose my method of learning.

"Alright then, now Ah want y'all ta buck this here tree." He pointed to a tree just next to him with his fore-hoof. "An' ya need ta place down two or three baskets where ya trying ta get the apples ta land, so that they don' get bruised by hittin' tha ground." He took two baskets from a nearby tree and pushed them to me.

Having next to no choice in having to randomly place them, I did so. Huh, anti-climatic sentence...

After a few seconds of 'careful' positioning, I walked up to the tree and turned around, locking my eyes on it as I'm about to prime myself for a buck.

"Hey, Corpus!"

My ears flared back from surprise and I look forwards, seeing Applejack and a small yellow filly walking through the trees towards me and Big Mac.

"So how're ya gettin' on? Bucked many apples?" Her and the smaller mare stopped a few feet away from us.

"Err... actually I haven't... even got one out..." Dear lord this is gonna be a little bad...

"Don't you worry none, we all do bad with our first tries. Although," She gave a slightly concerned look, "It's a mite worryin' if somepony ah age can't even get a single apple out of a tree."

_What...? Ohh... she thinks I meant, no. That's not what I was getting at._

"Actually, what I meant was that I haven't bucked at all yet. I had an odd feeling in my head and then I passed out. I only woke up a moment ago, and I was about to take a buck at this tree." I move my leg off the ground and aim it in the tree's direction, my hoof lazily dangling down as I brought it back to the ground.

"Oh, well that makes quite tha difference then. Care ta show Applebloom an' Ah what you can do?" She gave me a slight smirk, almost as if she were challenging me to something.

"Applebloom?"

"Yeah, that's me!" The little filly piped up, sounding rather happy. I can also detect a hint of an accent in her voice too.

"Oh, where are mah manners? Corpus, this here is Applebloom. Mine an' Big Macintosh's lil' sister."

Applebloom looked up at me and gave me a big smile, showing a great amount of innocence within her. "Nice ta meet you, Corpus!" Okay, her accent's actually pretty strong.

I ended up returning a smile to her as well, must be contagious on some level. _Heheh, contagious... why does that make me laugh...?_

Metaphorically shaking the odd thought process from my head, I look down at her and reply with a similar level of kindness. "Likewise, Applebloom." Yet another anti-climatic sentence.

"Soo..." Applejack spoke up from behind Applebloom, clearly moving somewhere with the conversation.

"...Yeah?" But I've no idea where.

"Are ya going ta show us yer buck or are ya jes' gonna stand around?" That slight smirk from earlier re-surfaced, giving me a bit of encouragement.

"Heh, sure thing! Just watch." I re-approach the tree and prepare for a buck much like I did earlier.

I bucked the tree with as much strength as I could muster, causing its leaves to make a very light rustling sound as two apples dropped out of the tree, both of which missed their intended baskets. I held my head up a little, after all that was pretty good for my first time.

Applejack gave a small snicker, taunting me about my lack of fruit. Both the metaphorical and literal kind. "Come on Corpus, Ah know you can do better than that! Even Applebloom here can get out at least three apples in a buck!"

Her younger sister decided to join in on the 'Make-fun-of-Corpus' roll. "Yeah! Ah thought you were s'posed ta be strong! Bein' an Alicorn an' all!" She took a small step forward, "But you can hardly buck more than me!"

_...Wait what? Ali... Crap! _I bring my hoof to the base of my neck, realizing that I wasn't wearing my cloak. _...I'm an idiot... Wait, nevermind that... why is Applebloom not over-reacting to my being an Alicorn!? Hm... I suppose it might be because she's stronger... than..._

My face instantly fell a little red as my head fell. Being mocked by Applejack was one thing, but being called inferior to her little sister and _by_ her little sister is a bit much. "I-it wasn't that bad, was it?" I lifted my head slightly, an almost sad look in my face as I did so.

"Oh yeah! I use'ly get 'bout three apples or more each time, but you only got tw-!"

"Now settle down a bit Applebloom," AJ placed a hoof in front of her tiny sister, causing her to glance at the orange hoof for a short while before inquisitively looking to her sister.

"But, you were doin' it too sis. How come you don't get told off?" The young filly gave her older sister a slight pout, not fully understanding the boundaries between banter and low-level bullying.

"There's a slight difference between jokin' about it and makin' somepony feel bad, and what you where sayin' ta Corpus was makin' him feel a bit awful."

Applebloom looked at her in shock, before looking a little upset at the outcome of her fun. She turned to me to apologize as an orange hoof landed itself on her head, ruffling her mane and bow. "Don't be upset 'bout it though, you didn' know. Ev'rypony makes mistakes." She looked up to Applejack and saw a soft smile on her face, instantly making her feel better about what she had done.

Nodding at her sister, Applebloom turned to me and lowered her head, speaking in a remorseful yet chirpy tone. "Ah'm sorry fer makin' ya feel bad. Ah took the joke a lil' too far an' hurt ya feelin's." She lifted her head to show me a serious but playfully sad face. The concept of that abstract emotion confuses the hell out of me, but I take it as a simple apology.

Raising my own head a bit I nod, accepting her apology. "Don't worry about it, I'm more disappointed with only getting out two apples." I look back to the two lonely apples laying on the ground, after a couple of seconds I return my attention to the cow ponies. "So don't feel too bad about it, it was only a bit of fun after all." I gave her a kind smile, letting her know that I felt no offense to what she had said.

Her little face lit up with happiness as she came to me in a single bounce, pushing the top of her head against my chest in affection. "Thank ya Corpus! Yer the best free labourer ever!"

_...Ehh...? F-free labourer...?_

_(That's what she said.)_

_I-...I know, but... Wait, you're back!_

_(Yup! Managed to finish a little earlier than I thought. Unlike a certain somepony who hints that he will and never does...)_

_...Who're you talking about? I never say anything like that..._

_(Don't worry, he's just a close friend... Ain't ya Island...?)_

_O...kaay...?_

_(Oh, they're talking to you.) _

_What? Who!?_

_(AJ and her sister.)_

_Oh crap, I better start paying attention!_

I bring my thoughts back to reality and catch Applejack turning to Applebloom almost angrily.

"Applebloom! That's rude! You don't ask somepony that sorta stuff!" She stood up straighter to display a sense of dominance over her sister, looking down at her by the corner of her eyes.

"A-Ah was jes' askin' is all..." The young pony shrank down, almost lowering her body to her hooves. "After all, I've never heard anythin' like it. Aren't you interested too Sis?"

"U-umm... what're we talking about? I kinda zoned out for a second.

_(No you didn't, you just completely forgot to keep track of what was happening right in front of you.)_

_Shh... they don't know that._

"Don't you worry none Corpus, Applebloom here was jes' askin' somethin' a little too personal fer a first encounter." AJ turned her head to me but moved her eyes back to her sister.

The tiny filly stood up in protest, trying to make her point sound fair. "Ah jes' wanted ta know why his accent was so weird."

_So weird... so weird... so weird...so weird... _Those last two words resounded through my head what felt like an infinite number of times, constantly bringing back the thought that my voice was abnormal to the extent that someone with an accent as strong as her's deemed it so...

_(Corpus...? Cooorpuuus...? Cooorpuuus! Corpus!)_

_Wha- du- hunh!? What happened!?_

_(You zoned out again. Pay attention, I didn't react like that so you shouldn't either.)_

_Well your voice isn't being mocked, so why would you react like tha-_

_(Corpus...)_

_...What?_

_(Our accents are the same!)_

_O-oh yeah... completely forgot...Sorry..._

_(Just reply to them, they're giving you an odd look.)_

I look at the two mares, realising that they were both gazing at me in a rather concerned manner.

"Ah-... erm... Hi."

"Hi...?" Applejack raised an uncertain eyebrow at my very out of place greeting. "Are ya okay? You've been standin' there whilst staring inta space fer a lil' while now. Somethin' on ya mind?"

"Ah, no... I was just daydreaming a little is all." I gave a small nervous laugh, before noticing that my speech was becoming somewhat similar to the Country pony's.

_(Well, I guess that means your'e just easy to leave an impression on.)_

_Stop commenting on all of my thoughts! It's distracting me from what's going on!_

"Now come an' help me with this, Corpus here needs to go an' get ta work with Big Mac." Applejack turned around, motioning for her sister to follow her.

"But Appleja~ck. Ah still don't know why his accent's s-" The filly gave a small objection, displaying her want to stay as she was cut off by a rather stern Applejack.

"Applebloom, you can ask him some other time. But fer now we need ta get workin'." Applebloom looked at her sister pleadingly, before surrendering to AJ's argument and proceeding to leave the Northern fields with her.

I watched the two depart until they had both left my field of vision, then I turned back around and approached the tree I had earlier 'bucked'. Earning me Big Mac's attention and a question.

"Y'all are goin' ta try again?" His eyes just never change! Neither does his voice! But, I suppose that's also a redeeming factor about him.

"Of course. If I don't practise, how am I ever going to get it right? The only way to grasp the technique is by experience, right?"

"Eeyup." He walked over to a tree of his own, one that he had already placed baskets under. He brought back his leg and gave the tree a buck, stripping it of every one of its fruits as they landed perfectly in the baskets. He picked one up and carried it over to the cart.

Starting again myself, I give the tree another hard buck. I knocked loose one apple...and it completely missed the basket...

We continued our work long and hard into the day, working up a sweat and an appetite, overall resulting in me becoming extremely tired out and worn. Actually, I'm still too fatigued to give you a detailed overview of what transpired, so I'll just give you the briefs. I managed to get my bucking average to a solid three or four; Bid Mac breezed through his work as if it were nothing; and we managed to get a little more work done today than they had originally hoped! This is it from me today, Corpus signing off.

"There we go, that should suffice." I place the pieces of paper onto the night stand and turn off the light, rolling over onto my side as I did so. Just before I closed my eyes, I saw a shadow under the door, blocking out some of the light from the hallway. Thinking nothing of it, I drift off into a nice, deep sleep.

But outside of Corpus' door, an Orange Earth Pony stood there, looking very anxious as she was sweating bullets...

* * *

**I'm so sorry, I just had to leave a cliff-hanger there! XD**

**And this is my longest Chapter yet with over 9000 words! (Enter Vegeta joke here) **

**Anyway, review on the good, the bad, the clop, and the myeh!**

**Bye bi!**


	22. Chapter 22: The 11th Night: Sweet Dreams

**Author's note:**

**I now declare that this story is now longer in hiatus! :D**

**It's been much too long since I've written, almost feels alien to me now. Anyway, I'm really sorry about the hiatus status, I had a nervous breakdown the night before I declared hiatus (Absolutely my WORST experience ever T_T) and went under emotional and mental recovery for a while. I thought it best that I didn't write anything other than reviews during this period as to not put something in which I'd later come to heavily regret. And to add insult to injury, my mental state took a nose-dive a few days later and continued to deteriorate bit by bit for a while. But I've made a bit of a recovery since then and am able to keep writing! ^^**

**At present I'm still seeing a psychiatrist to keep my mental state stable and to get a heads up for any signs of another breakdown, but I'm doing good so far :) I'd also like to give a very special thanks to Frostbiteandsilverwind, DarkLordK and AceAxer for their unbelievable support in helping me get out of my pit of depression and stopping the breakdown from getting as bad as it could have done! ^_^ I honestly don't know what I would've done without you guys!**

**Ugh... long A/N is long... and this is making it longer...**

**Well, this chapter is just about filled to the brim with clop, so I bet that you're all (Or...at least most of you are...?) gonna be happy with it! =)**

**Also I would like to make a very important point, I will never, ever devote an entire chapter to something that has little relevance to anything**  
**to do with the story, so this chapter is very much closely linked to the story's overall progression. Just so that you don't think that I'm going mad with clop :P If anything, I kinda felt a little weird writing parts of this. I dunno, might've been because I typed this up whilst being in a room containing another two hundred or so people, 8 of which I have confirmed to be anti-bronies.**

**And this one is _much_ more graphical than my previous clop attempts, I just hope not too graphical. Don't want it taken down... :/**

**Anyway, have fun with this chapter! Especially you ShiningShadow! It may not be entirely what you wanted but, myeh. You know ;D**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Upstairs hallway, Apple house, **12:19**_** A.M...**

The orange mare was still stood there after 12 minutes, not having moved or ended her anxiety since her arrival to the wooden barrier to the Alicorn's room.

_W-why am Ah even stood here!? _AJ shook her head, breaking out of her trance-like state. _A-Ah should be heading ta bed, Ah have lotsa work ta get done tomorra._

She went to turn around, stopping instantly in her tracks as her legs started to shake wildly."H-huh!? What're y'all doing!? Stop messin' around, Ah need ta sleep!" She put all of the strength she could summon into moving her legs, resulting in their shaking to become reduced slightly. "Now get along, it's time- Nnng!- fer bed!" She struggled even more, keeping her voice low as it escaped through her gritting teeth.

After her next spurt of effort, the image of Corpus from the previous morning entered her head. Her face instantly fell red and she lost all strength in her legs, her fore-hooves then kicking off the ground and sending her falling backwards onto Corpus' door, opening the loosely closed aperture.

"Oww..." She winced in slight pain as her head suffered two blows from both the door and the wooden floor, "What was _that _about, huh!?" She looked down at her legs, questioning them in a hushed tone. Then, for the slightest of moments, she saw a phantom of an image appear, positioned over her in a looming fashion and making her heart skip a beat, and creating an uncomfortable warmth between her legs. She laid there on the floor, almost motionless for several long moments, the only noise floating about the otherwise silent room being the gentle pitter patter of the rain hitting the window and the soft breaths of the blissfully unaware Stallion, whom was deeply lost in his world of dreams. The mare rolled onto her front, laying on her stomach and allowing heavy breaths to force their way from her mouth and into the shared airspace between her and the object of her desires. As she steadily rose herself up from the wooden planks beneath her, her empty, lust-filled eyes wandered to Corpus, attaching themselves onto his form and almost sucking him in to fill a void within them.

With her absent eyes fixated on him, she slowly began to make a staggering effort to get within touching distance of Corpus, making the eventual stop mere centimetres away from the edge of his bed. Now drawing her breaths with even more strength than before, she grabbed the edge of his sheet with her teeth and threw it to one side, revealing the ground-brown fur on his side and back which was somewhat decorated with the close-to orange mane that made it's scruffy path down his neck. She had next to no more thought process, no more control over her body as her hooves reached over to Corpus' chest and stomach, dragging his heavy body onto its back. No longer being able to keep her heat in check, she mounted his bed and made for his stallion-hood. She brought the unconscious member into her mouth, sucking and tasting it in a lustful attempt of awaking it. Before long had passed, it had learnt to stand on its own, allowing AJ to freely cover every area of it with her dripping tongue, getting the full taste of the unused organ.

"...Mnn... nyaa..." The colt began to turn and twist slightly in his sleep, a partially strained expression donning itself upon his face. He constantly tried to roll onto his side, only to be stopped every time by one of AJ's hooves which were positioned as to prevent him from moving. As his sleep stirred and his rod became more aroused, his sleep-talking picked up in size and volume. "Mm-back... uncom-...fortable... Feels-mnnya...- good..." He continued to stir until he became capable of forming conscious thoughts, being pushed to the brink of his sleep.

_...why... does it feel good...? I must be dreaming...it's a nice dream..._

As the mare's desires grew stronger, her body control lessened and lessened. Her hoof instinctively made it's way to her moist entrance and began to form circular motions about it, bringing her ripple after ripple of pure pleasure to spread from her groin to around her lower body. A few muffled moans left her, forcing sound waves to travel down my dick and stimulate it in a different way. From the sudden change in pleasure, my body jolted as if struck by an alien force, bringing me to full consciousness as I sat up.

"W-wha-!?" I look around frantically, my vision to only be met and challenged by a dark room, lit only by the faint silver moonlight that twinkled in from the window. Running my eyes across the walls and to the door, I notice that the oak door is wide open. "Huh? I could've sworn that I closed it la-!" As I tried to move I realized that I was being bound down...by... my... WAH!

Applejack's eyes only gaze up at me as her head continues its piston-movement, no sense of her usual character residing behind those deep, lust-filled eyes. She kept her hooves on my sides, keeping me in place as she relentlessly continued her assault. Having only just realised what was transpiring, all of the pleasure my absent mind and body had missed came rushing into me, causing a loud moan to leave my widely parted lips and my body enter a fit of miniature twitches.

I look back down at her, opening an eye partially as I tried to conceal this surprise uproar of sexual tension. "A-Applejack... what'r-"

Before I could finish she flicked her tongue over the tip of my member, with it still residing in her mouth. I brought my salivating mouth to a quick close, barely preventing the next moan from escaping. I lowered my head and let out a series of heavy pants, feeling my energy drain with each piece of delight I gained from this new experience. I lift my head, still gasping for breath as I slowly open my eyes, only for my breathing to be cut short as I'm met with a soft sensation pressing itself against my lips. Applejack pushes her lips and body against me harder until my back's pressed against the head of the bed, feeling her warm fur on my chest as we continue to exchange fluids. At this moment and during the next few, a warm blush began swimming to my cheeks.

_L-Ly...? Are you there?_

_(Y-...yes.)_

_Am I dreaming? Please tell me I'm dreaming!_

_(You're not... talking to me is proof enough...)_

_Ah cra~p! What's happening!? I don't understand!_

_(I don't know! Just give me a minute, I'll try and get out of this!)_

_Please hu-!_

My thoughts are abruptly ended as AJ's tongue forces its way into my mouth and begins acquainting itself with my own. I push my hooves against her with all my strength, with only just managing to pry her from my mouth, I address her in a hushed tone, trying my best not to wake the others.

"AJ! What're you doing!? This isn't like you in the slightest!"

_(Corpus, it's no use!)_

_W-what do you mean!?_

She overpowered my arms and moved her head next to mine, wrapping her hooves around my neck as she quietly whispered into my ear.

"Ah'm sorry Corpus, but Ah really, really want to do this..."

_(She's in heat! She can't stop herself, even if she wants to!)_

I was hit by a double dose of shock, both from what Ly had told me, and from the feel of Applejack's dripping slit moving up the side of my member and beginning to press itself against the head.

My heartbeat quickened, a mixture of fear and lust taking over as the situation had already escaped any chance of falling under my control. "A-AJ... Please, don-!" My voice lodged itself in my throat as lightning struck and the mare slammed her waist downwards, plunging me deep into her tight hole. The rain had also picked up in speed and harshness, the weather cruelly reflecting the events transpiring in my room.

My mind went completely blank as an unbelievable sensation overtook my entire being, stemming from my constricted dick in the mare's hot, soaking opening. As I was about to unleash a loud groan of pure pleasure, AJ slammed her lips into mine and released first. We filled the other's mouth with varying noises of pleasure and, in her case, pain. After I had regained control of my voice I pulled away, looking at the pained Applejack as she gritted her teeth from the piercing sensation where we met. I looked down at our groins, surprised to see a trickle of blood flowing from her onto my waist.

"A-Applejack, you're-"

"Don'chu worry none," She lifted her head, forcing a smile onto her face. She then suddenly pulled down onto my shoulders and forced me onto my back, where she then fully straddled my waist and lowered her face to mine, whispering seductively into my ear. "Ah'll be feelin' a lot better very soon..."

Barely processing what she said, I felt a strong friction brewing itself against me and her insides as she started pumping, flooding me with pleasure and lust. I look up at her, taking in every detail about her amazing body. Her golden mane, her emerald eyes, her cute freckles, her soft lips, her warm chest, her strong legs, and her groin, her amazingly good groin...

We both started eliciting moans as she picked up speed, her virgin pain quickly healed and replaced by a storm of pleasure attacking her hot mare-hood, spawning from where its walls were harshly grinding against my member.

_It's no use... my resistance is just about finished, I can't hold back the temptation any longer!_

Unable to keep my lust under control, I place my hooves on her flank and pull her hips down onto mine. All the while I start moving my waist in opposing movements to her's, increasing the speed and pleasure of the moment and creating 'slapping' sounds as our furred bodies collided in a steadfast beat. She reacted kindly to this too, letting out louder moans into the air as we created a greater heat between the cigar and its case. I moved my right hoof up her back and to her neck, running it over her mane as I brought over and back down again to stop at her shoulders, pulling her inwards and meeting her with a warm, deep kiss. She wrapped her fore-legs around my neck, holding me in a tight embrace as we gave each other donations of our own fluids, getting lost in each other completely. As we began filling the room with the lewd noises emanating from our point of intersection, I could feel myself getting pretty close, pressure was building up and wanted to explode out.

I pull away from our kiss, burying my head into my pillow as a strand of saliva linked our tongues, panting. "A-AJ...haa... I'm getting... pretty close..."

"Jes' hold on, Ah'm almos' done too..."

She began picking up some speed, making me clench my teeth trying to keep back my orgasm. Then all of a sudden AJ let out a small scream as she reached her climax, her vagina tensing up and squeezing my dick much harder than it had done earlier, also bringing me to the edge.

"A-AJ!" I attempt to push her off of me, trying to free my member before it exploded inside of her, only for the mare to push back and plunge the full length of me into her. Without being able to do anything, my hot seed shoots out of me and deep into her womb. Panting heavily, I give her an almost angrily confused stare. "What're you doing...? What if you get pregnan-!?"

She silences me with a kiss and starts pumping again, attacking my phallus, which was still left sensitive from my ejaculation, relentlessly, sending a wash of painful, numbing pleasure to flow through it.

She pulled her lips from mine briefly, simply to respond to me. "Well that's tha point of heat, ain't it? Gettin' pregnant...?" Another bolt of lightning struck outside, raising my fear from her statement even further.

Before I could respond to her nightmare of a declaration she silences me again, her soft lips acting as the perfect lid to my voice. I could only barely think with everything going on, sad thoughts filling my head as a sweet hell was forming around me.

_I had already lost this battle once I gave consent... there's nothing left for me to do other than accept this as it is. But I don't want it to turn out like this... I don't want her to get pregnant because if me..._

I close my eyes, reluctantly accepting what I was stuck in as I tried to free my mind from its depressing thoughts.

_Well... at least it can only get better...right...?_

AJ moved her leg under the quilt that had been moved down earlier, kicking it over both of us and concealing most of our bodies. We continued kissing and she maintained her waist movements, the numbness slowly leaving me as a higher level of ecstasy started to fill my body again, giving me a sweet sense of wholeness.

"Applejack, are ya in he-... are you two kissin'!?"

My heart skipped a beat. AJ pulled her lips from mine and turned her head, followed by me slowly turning my own shortly afterwards. Once my eyes had fallen on the doorway, I had only confirmed the shock that had shot through my mind. The young yellow filly was stood at the open door, looking at me and Applejack with shocked eyes.

AJ had an almost scared look on her face, but I could still see her strong lust peering through her, only just being masked up from the surprise of Applebloom's appearance. "Y-yeah, Ah am, Applebloom..." AJ had slowed down, but she was still lightly and subtly slamming her waist against mine, even though her little sister was now in the room. Wait... why did she admit it too!?

Applebloom's expression calmed slightly, probably feeling a little awkward at the situation. "W-why? Do ya like each other?"

"No, he was jes', uh... comfortin' me..." She stopped her motion and began to lightly grind me instead, forcing me to bite my lip shut to stop myself from moaning in Applebloom's presence.

She started to shakily walk towards us... huh? Shaking? Is she scared...? Or... uh oh...

"Did tha lightnin' scare you too sis?" She gave us a close to pleading stare from her big, puppy dog eyes.

"Y-yeah, Ah came in here ta ask Corpus ta help me calm down, seeing as how Big Mac's impossible ta wake up at night. So he was jes' givin' me a lil' comfortin' kiss is all." Despite Applebloom being mere feet away from us, Applejack continued to slowly grind me, almost forcing unintentional twitches from my lower body.

"O-oh..." The filly's face started to glow a faint red and she deterred her vision to the floor. A timid, southern voice broke out of her lips. "Tha's... really mushy but, c-could ya... let me join you...?"

My eyelid involuntarily twitched. Making out with a child is something I do NOT want to do. "N-... I don't think that'd be ver-"

A bolt of lightning struck down outside and cut me off. The small filly instantly closed her eyes and shrank down, quivering in fear from the electrical discharge.

I felt really bad about wanting to decline her, but a little lightning isn't going to change my decision. But even though I don't want to kiss her, I really don't want to be the one to say it. I can't start off a friendship by declining their first favour, no matter how unreasonable it is. With this in mind I turn my head to AJ, silently asking her to break the news to her sister.

My 'partner' looked down at me and smiled, nodding her head. She turned to her sister and spoke with a warm voice. "Sure thing, it's tha' least he can do fer ya." She got the completely wrong message! And now she's inviting her sister over for what would easily be classified as low-level pedophilia.

Applebloom's little face lifted up to us and glowed with happiness, a scene that could make anyone's heart melt. "R-really? Ah can?"

_AJ you... arrgh! I can't bring myself to insult you!_

I turned my head back to the excited filly, dreading what I was about to say. "Actually... y-!"

My voice cancelled out as Applejack pushed her waist against mine, forcing my full length to reach deep inside of her in a single swift move. She lowered her face to my ear, whispering into it seductively again.

"Jes' say yes, she wants ya to after all. Lettin' her join us will make her happy. Besides, if ya don't," She rolled off of me and onto her side, my member flicking out of her as she did so. "Then Ah'm not gonna move from this spot, where you can't feel good anymore..."

The filly's face contorted slightly in confusion, "What did ya say Corpus? Ah din't hear you."

I could feel myself beginning to fill up with sexual frustration, having been feeling so good for so long has made me start to crave it, especially since we stopped mid-way. All I could focus on was putting it back inside of her, but to achieve that I needed to kiss her younger sister...

I gave AJ a quick, bitter look before turning back to her sister, speaking monotonously as my eyes fell blank and empty. "I said that you can join us..."

"Thank you!" Applebloom's face became a brightly lit display of gratitude as she happily bounded towards the bed, momentarily jumping on and cuddling up to me.

I just stared at her, she did nothing but pull the cover on herself, curl up to me and put her hooves on my stomach... Maybe that's what she meant by 'join us'...

"Well? Don'chu wanna put it back in...?" Applejack ran a hoof across my lower belly as she lightly bit my ear, making me ever more eager to return to our previous 'activity'. Until a thought clicked in my head...

I turned my head back to her, whispering into her ear quietly. "You can't honestly be planning to do this in front of your sister can you!? What will she think!?"

Without replying, AJ ran her tongue up my cheek and past my lips, causing an odd heat to run to my face. Whilst doing this, she also lowered her hoof and started to lightly stroke my stallion-hood, making me straighten my back and take in a deep breath, an almost futile attempt at keeping my self-control intact.

"Well _you_ seem ta be willin' to. In fact, Ah think y'all are even harder than what you were earlier. Does tha thought of doin' it in front of mah sister excite you?" She gave me an evilly sly grin.

"N-no! I-it's just-! Well you-! ..." I couldn't think of a comeback... What she said wasn't true! I just...couldn't think of a way to show why...

AJ gave a light chuckle at my verbal disorientation. "Well if ya ain't gonna kiss her," She buried her face in the side of my neck, putting her hooves on my stomach and pressing her mare-hood against the side of my waist, "Then Ah guess that means y'all don't wanna do it. So Ah'll jes' satisfy mahself..." She started to rub her slit against me, letting out hot breaths into my neck.

My lust was beginning to reach a new height, the feel of her opening and the sensation of the small stain of her fluids on my side was starting to become too much to handle. I was reaching my limit within mere seconds, unable to bare the greed that was brewing inside of me.

I closed my eyes and spoke softly, my resistance being shattered yet again. "Okay, fine! I'll kiss her, alright...?"

I felt a relief of pressure from my neck. Slowly opening my eyes, I look at Applejack, seeing a victorious grin on her lips. She then motioned her head in the direction of her sister, telling me to keep to my word. I reluctantly turn my head to look at the filly. She's still cuddled up onto me, her eyes closed with a blissful smile on her face.

I poked her lightly with my hoof and whispered. "Applebloom... Applebloom? ...Applebloom, are you awake?"

Her body rocked slightly from my poking but she didn't respond, so I'm assuming that she's already fast asleep.

"Lucky you, this jes' makes it easier fer ya..." I felt another light nibble on my ear following the voice, driving me ever closer to insanity.

I take in a deep breath, bracing myself for the horror that was to come. I lightly pushed Applebloom's head, making her face look directly towards the ceiling as small, little breaths left her. Silently cursing, I lower my face to her's, my lips shakily forming into a 'pursed' shape.

...I quickly brought my head back up, an almost disgusted look on my bright red face.

Applejack placed her hoof on my left cheek, bringing it over to look me in the eye. Then without warning, she kissed me. After a few seconds of our lips being locked together she pulls away, a very satisfied smile laying on her lips.

"That one tasted a little differen'ly from before, guess ya went ahead with it after all."

I didn't respond, instead I pouted slightly and deterred my eyes from her, not wanting to talk about this subject... ever.

"Come on, don' be like that." She climbs onto my stomach and straddles me, leaning down and kissing me as she maneuvers her hoof about my stallion-hood, trying to get the position right. Once she had the tip pressed her vagina, she pulled away and smiled at me. "We can have our previous fun again now, so cheer up a mite, please sugahcube?" Saying this, she lowers herself down and inserts my penis back into her, causing me to hold my mouth shut as I'm filled with pleasure again.

Our breathing begins to pick up in volume again, and AJ begins to create larger motions to get the most pleasure as she can out of it. She then places her hooves on my chest and starts to increase her speed, almost drawing a relaxed smile from my still pouting expression.

"Y'all alright? Ya haven't even started movin' yer waist yet." It's very hard to tell, but there's a slight hint of concern hidden behind her voice.

I divert my eyes from her, looking over to the wall next to me. "I can't believe you made me do something like that..."

"Ah, stop bein' such a priss," She laid down on my chest and kissed me on the cheek, still pumping against me as she did so, "Ah was only havin' a little bit of fun, can't ya forgive me?"

I glance back at her and press the side of my face against her's, closing my eyes and rubbing against her affectionately. "Only if you promise not to make me do something like that again."

She returned the affection with similar movements. "Okay, Ah promise..." She shortly brought her head back up and looked at me happily.

Following her promise, I wrap my hooves around her in an embrace and pull her close again, pushing my waist against her's whenever it came close too. We momentarily entered a long kiss, playing a game of territory with our tongues.

We were being careful not to wake Applebloom up, keeping the noise from our colliding bodies at a minimal and using each other's mouth as a seal to keep in our elicited moans of pleasure. It felt nice... her bumpy walls rubbing up and down my shaft with every movement we made, stimulating every inch of my erect tower. Up the main mast, under the base of the head, all over the tip of the head, an indescribable and unbeatable delectation bursting forth from these places only increased my lust for more sex. With my libido becoming boosted and myself starting to near the end of my limit, I abandoned all caution and began thrusting into the mare with more and more force, creating louder noises to come from our slapping hips and making both of us moan into each other louder.

Applejack let out an exceptionally loud moan, pressing herself against me harder and deepening our kiss. I took a quick glance at Applebloom through the corner of my eye, becoming assured that she was still asleep. My breath suddenly began to falter slightly as I felt a strong heat arising in my dick, showing that I was only a few mere moments away from reaching heaven again.

I take my lips from Applejack's and place my head alongside her's, whispering eagerly. "A-Applejack, I'm getting close again..."

"M-me too..." Her voice sounded almost strained, guessing she feels just as good as me at the moment.

My thoughts were instantly halted when a sudden, strong sense of release took a hold of me, stripping any control I had over myself away as I orgasmed for the second time tonight. My seed shot out inside of her, some of it slowly spilling out of her as she continued to move. Everything was starting to sound kinda blurry, my head started feeling really light as ecstasy washed over my body.

"Aaaahhhh!" Applejack's back arched over as she came, her vagina tightening around me yet again as some of her fluids began to drip down my already soaked member.

Feeling the added pressure being applied to my already numbing cock sent me into a new realm altogether, a sensation somewhat surpassing that of an orgasm gripping me and pulling me away. I could feel my previous fatigue and tiredness creeping back into me, my energy had been almost completely expended by my earlier work and our current sexual activity. I started to phase out, losing consciousness to sleep.

"Haa... y-ya finished already...? Ha... H'ah... hoped you'd last a little... longer... haa... Oh well, guess Ah'll make tha most of it..."

That's the last thing I heard. I fell under the spell of sleep just afterwards, my tool being used for God knows how much longer. For the remainder of the night, I had some very sweet dreams...

* * *

**Done! I've finally gotten it finished! :D**

**I owe you a little bit of a confession... I've been able to write for a few days now. That's right! I took some unnecessary time with this  
chapter, I'm sorry T_T Please find it in your heart to forgive me.**

**Well, review on the good, the bad and the myeh! And don't forget to tell me what you thought of the clop! ^^**

**Bye bi!**


	23. Chapter 23: The 12th Morning: Divulgence

**WARNING:**

**Whoa****, whoa, whoa! Are you sure you want to be starting from this chapter? There's a rather plot-important proclamation in this chapter,  
so starting now may end up being quite a large spoiler for you if you haven't already read previous chapters. Just a heads up ^^**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks for the good reviews on last chapter's clop guys, I'll be sure to put in more of the same quality sometime ^^ And when I say sometime, I  
mean very soon :3**

**And now for a chapter on a completely different subject! I didn't forget about _anything_ in this chapter, I simply left it out of the picture  
for a while because it wasn't directly important or correlated to the progression of the plot. So happy reading ^^**

**Ah, one quick warning... The phrase "The other guard" is excessively used in this chapter, purely because I can't be bothered to switch between  
the only two ways I can think of describing him over and over :P So please ignore that very annoying recurrence.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**06:54 A.M.** Celestia's Castle 3rd floor, Throne Room..._

"...Hey, Chester Nut." A grey Royal Guard in golden armour glanced to his side, looking at a Pegasus Royal Guard through his peripheral vision.

"Yeah...?" The second guard returned eye contact, being sure not to move the rest of his body from its standing point.

"Have you noticed something... odd about the princesses lately?"

"Not too much, no. I spend most of my time day-dreaming, seeing as how nothing especially exciting goes on around here."

The first guard turns his head, a shocked expression imprinted on his face. "You _what!?_ We're Royal Guards! You must be diligent at all times, emergency or not!"

Chester turned his head and gave his companion an unsatisfied glare, "It's less shameful than what you do. You try to claim as many night-shifts as you can, just to look at her highness Luna. Celestia knows what goes on in your head." He turned his head away, returning to his usual bored stare at the hall's entrance.

"N-no I don't! I just, uhh... like the night air, yeah!"

Chester lowered his face into his hoof, "Just, please shut up. I'm trying to have a nice day-dream, and all I'm getting, is a stupid little ass like you, talking to me about night-time preferences. It's only our second week of being Guards and you've already made me want to hit you..."

The first guard pulled a slightly pouting face, looking away from his 'friend' in an upset manner. "You didn't have to call me a Donkey..."

"You know what? You're right." Chester withdrew his face from his hoof, glaring at the other Pony angrily instead. "That'd just be an insult to the entire Donkey-race! High level racism right here, and for that, I retract my previous statement! Happy!?"

"...Yes." He replied meekly and pathetically.

"Just, how in the hell did you manage to get on the Royal Guard!? I'm sure they still run IQ checks in the entrance exam!" Chester turned his head and face-hoofed again, "You, you know what? Don't answer that. Your answer will only hurt my head."

There was a slightly awkward silence in the room, Chester stood there massaging his brow, trying to clear his mind of the other on-duty guard, and said guard looking at him innocently.

"...So, about my question..."

Chester let out a heavy sigh, accepting his fate at being stuck here for the next few hours. "I already said, I don't know."

"Yes but, listen to what I have to say."

"Since when did I say I wouldn't?"

"Wait, so you _will_ listen to me...?"

"No."

"But you just said-"

"Get to the point already. I don't want this shift to have to feel any longer than it needs to be..." The guard was now giving the entrance door an evil glare, his urge to hit something rising.

"Well, Princess Celestia seems to be spending almost no time in here recently. And whenever she is around, she spends hours on end standing on the balcony with Prince Shining Armour. Not to mention that Princess Luna, Cadence, and that purple unicorn come here at night and do the same."

"Wait," Chester turned his head back around, raising an eyebrow, "How do you know what goes on during the day? You never have any shifts beyond ten in the morning."

"Oh, Singh Dason tells me this stuff. He gives me an update on the Princesses activities as we switch shifts."

"You mean that weird Marelaysian guy? Are you telling me you can actually understand him?"

The guard nodded his head. "Yeah, my grandfather's part Marelaysian. He taught me everything I know about their culture and language."

"...Your odd blood-line aside, why is it strange that the Princesses are spending time on the balcony? It _is _their's after all."

"Well, they're spending all day on there! That's not normal no matter how you look at it!"

Chester closed his eyes and put on a happily sinister grin. "Maybe they just want a tan. It's probably been a while since either of the Princesses has had a stallion, so they're just making themselves more appealing to look at."

The other guard looked at him shocked, his mouth close to the floor. "Wha-, you can't say that Chester! The Princesses are the most beautiful ponies in Equestria!"

Chester's smile fell as he gave the other guard an angry stare. "What, brown-nosing the Princesses are we now? Although you'd probably get a kick out of doing it to Luna."

The other guard took a step back and held his wrist up to his mouth, pulling a disgusted face. "Eww, no. Anal's not my style."

"Wha-, what do you mean not your style!? _You _have no style! You're as much a virgin now as you were the day you were born!"

The other guard pouted, using another pathetically wimpy voice. "You are too..."

"Why don't you check that with your mother? She'll tell you otherwise." Chester had yet another evilly smug grin on his face.

"Aw, man. That... that wasn't cool. You don't see me talking about doing your mom."

"That's because you don't know my mother! You'd rather just screw Luna in her ass instead!"

"No man. As I said, anal isn't my style."

"Oh don't buck with me, you'd probably leap at the chance of getting inside her, no matter what hole it is!"

"And who are we talking about?" A gracefully beautiful voice spoke out from behind Chester, causing the other guard to freeze on the spot.

Chester turned around to face the voice behind him. "Ol' Sparky over here wants to d-..." He's eyes widened in shock from the figure in front of him, accompanied by his backing motion to the throne's arm. "P-Princess Celestia! I- er.. we, uhh... we- we're standing by our posts, Ma'am."

"That's good to hear, Chester." The white Alicorn smiled and looked over to the other guard, giving him a kind beam as well. "Then I shall leave you two to fufill your duties."

"Yes, thank you, Your Highness." Chester and the other guard spoke and stood straight in unison, almost as if this were a drill that was hammered into their heads.

Nodding, Celestia turned and made for the doorway to the main third level Palace hall, leading onto the Balcony. "Oh," Celestia stopped and turned her head towards the guards slightly, still maintaining her usual kind smile, "And please talk about your 'personal' preferences during your own time. Especially when it concerns me and my sister."

Both guards gulped and straightened their backs further as sweat droplets formed on thier heads, causing Celestia to chuckle as she turned back around and continued on her way to the balcony.

Both Chester and the other one kept their gaze firmly locked on the hall's entrance, neither taking their eyes from it. "...I do care what hole it's in..."

"Dude, shut up."

* * *

**_06:58 A.M._**_ Celestia's Castle 3rd floor, Balcony..._

Celestia stepped onto the dusk-ridden balcony, looking at her sister and subjects. The latter of which were lying on the floor, fast asleep and completely exhausted. The Princess of the Night, almost falling apart herself. Her horn was barely surrounded by a faint aura of dark cerulean and her physical form was ragged with sleep deprivation and over-exertion, her eyes also falling half closed and heavy bags forming beneath them.

Upon seeing her older sister enter, she gave a weak smile and opened her mouth to talk. "Do not speak, my dear sister." Luna re-closed her mouth, unsettled by Celestia's sudden command. "Let me take over," The Princess moved a glance from Twilight to Cadence, a sorrowful expression coming to light on her face, "You have done much more than you can handle, you need to rest."

The dark Princess receded her already unenthusiastic gaze, lowering her head in slight anguish before stepping up boldly. "Sorry but... I-I won't, sister. You still aren't fully rested yourself! Besides, it's not even your shift yet! You still have to raise the sun to-"

"Luna, I will only ask you once more," Celestia looked back up to her sister, her sorrowful gaze replaced with a sternly determined fix, "Stand down and let me take over, please."

"I-I can't! It's-"

"You're utterly exhausted, and even Twilight Sparkle and Mi Amore have collapsed. It's only a matter of an hour or so before the same happens to you. If such a thing were to happen whilst nopony else were present, then it would put both you and our objective in danger. I cannot allow such a thing to happen. Please put faith in me, Luna."

A distressed cry for help climbed its way over Luna's face as she gave her sister a long stare with pleading eyes, only for the elder Alicorn's resolve to remain unwavered. Sighing, Luna stepped down, approaching Twilight and Cadence at her defeat. "Okay, I'll take a rest. Sorry, sis..." Her horn's aura flickered a little as she tried to focus more power into it.

Celestia's horn illuminated in an incandescent yellow, lifting both sleeping ponies onto her sister's back. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure that you'll feel much better after a little bit of rest." Despite the aura having already faded from her subjects' bodies, Celestia's horn still glowed brilliantly, signifying her control over the spell Luna had been keeping active.

"Thank you..." Luna responded weakly, slowly making her way to the balcony's exit. But she stopped suddenly at Celestia's side, looking at her sister inquisitively. "Shining Armour isn't here? I thought he was to help you withhold the spell."

"It's still five hours before our shift begins, so he's currently resting so he can keep the spell lasting longer." Celestia twisted her head very slightly, bringing Luna into the corner of her view as she radiated a warm smile.

This hit Luna hard, an emotion a little short of anger filling her as she faced her sister. "You can't honestly be expecting to carry this out by yourself!" She stomped her hoof, challenging Celestia with heavy drawn eyes of fatigue. "I won't let you do something so reckless!"

The Princess of the day let out a tiny chuckle, "Worry not, my sister. I don't plan on doing this alone." She turned her head back around and approached the balcony's edge, staring into the horizon with full seriousness in her eyes. "This has taken a lot longer than I had initially expected, and as a result, it has left us tired and ragged with exhaustion." She turned her head back around, looking her sister dead in the eye. "So after you've dropped those two off in their rooms, I would like you to come back here to me with Shining Armour. Do you think you could do that for me?"

Luna nodded her head, worn resolution taking form on her. "Of course sister, I'll get it done immediately."

Celestia's mouth curved into a warm beam, promptly nodding as her sister had done. "Thank you, then I shall stand and await for your return."

Following her sister's command, Luna exited the dark landing and made her way to the Royal suite rooms.

Seeing her younger sister leave, Celestia let out a sigh and faced the dark horizon again, temporarily staring off into space as thoughts flowed into her head.

After many moments had passed, the White Alicorn closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, clearing her mind. "I really hope this all pays off. It wouldn't be good to put my subjects into this state if nothing good came from this."

Her horn increased in light emission intensity, the sky slowly growing lighter as the seconds passed. Soon the sun was visible from the horizon, slowly lifting its way into the sky from Celestia's magical guidance. The great ball of fire soon came to a steady stop, the aura about Celestia's horn dropping in opacity as it did so. She let out a worked sigh, letting her head drop ever so slightly.

She gave the ground beneath her a contemplated look, soon deciding on an answer for herself and raising her head again. "No, this will pay off... I can feel that the whole of Equestria, if not more, will be affected by this. We must persevere with this task, dire consequences may arise if we do not..."

Light hoofsteps flew mildly across the balcony floor, Luna and a tired stallion walking into Celestia's presence. "I've returned sister, and I've brought Shining Armour as requested."

Shining gave the older Princess a half dazed gaze, still not being fully present mentally. He spoke with a slightly rough voice. "Why have I been summoned so early? Doesn't our shift start in another few hours Princess...?"

Turning around, Celestia graces both ponies with another smile. "Thank you Luna," She turned her attention to the Prince, "And as for your summoning, Shining Armour, I need both you and my sister for something very important."

Shining briefly shook his head, waking himself up for the matter at hand. "Well sure, fire away, your Majesty."

Celestia looked over to Luna, earning a co-operative nod from her also. "I need the both of you to bring the five most powerful Unicorns under your command here, we will require their assistance in maintaining the spell until we have found _him_. Shining Armour, you shall take your five from the Royal Guard around the palace, whether they're in or out of shift."

The unicorn gave a determined nod. "I understand, Princess."

Celestia returned the affirmation, turning to her sibling afterward. "And Luna, your pick shall come from your personal Guard."

"I shall bring them in immediately." Her voice was, also, supported by her will.

"Thank you, then I shall leave you to it."

Nodding, the two depart from the balcony and head to their individual subordinates, rallying up their strongest magic users.

* * *

_**07:03 A.M. **Celestia's Castle, Throne room..._

Chester and the other guard were still at their posts, a long silence brewing between them, broken only by Chester's annoyed grunts as he massaged his brow.

"Please just... don't talk to me... I can't stand your stupidity. Just thinking about how anyone could be as retarded as you hurts my head..."

The other guard pouted at him, curving his brows inward and up innocently. "But you _do_ have a crush on Princess Celestia, on your day shifts you keep staring at her flank..."

"How many bucking times do I need to tell you...?" Chester put his hoof to the ground and looked at the other guard angrily, "I don't have a bucking crush on anypony!"

"Then why do you keep staring at her flank?"

"The hell sort of half-assed question is that!? You _know_ why I, or anypony else for that matter, would stare! It's because she has a great flank! Anypony'd want to hit that!" The Royal Guard's face was beginning to subtly glow a faint red, from a mixture of anger and the thought of seeing and ...ing Celestia from behind.

But in the midst of his angry glare, Chester felt a chill travel up his spine and his face loosened into a fear-filled variety of its normal form, hearing hoofsteps behind him. He turned around to see Princess Luna walk past, giving him an almost sinister glare as she heard just about the entire conversation they had had. She didn't speak, she just gave him a cold stare as she approached the entrance to the Throne room's hall, abruptly turning her head from him.

Chester stood looking at her, sweating bullets as fear wrecked havoc through his mind. Momentarily, he shook his head and cleared his thoughts of any guilt. In their place, he had worked up an anger for his 'friend', turning to him with a snarl in his voice. "What the hell is wron-... What... are you...?"

The other Guard was tilting to his far right with all four hooves firmly set on the floor, moving his neck out as far as it'd go in said direction as he quietly mumbled. "Mmm... come oooon... Just a little..." He quickly placed all of his weight on the opposite side, mirroring what he had just done, still to no prevail.

"A-are you trying to look at her flank? What if she sees you, idiot!?" He kept his voice low and glanced back to the dark hued Princess, making sure she didn't hear him.

"...No... I don't pay particular attention to that..." The Guard was still leaning, using all of his might to try and catch a glimpse of something.

Chester raised and furrowed a brow, unsure on what his colleague meant. "If you're not looking at her flank, then what're you... Dude! That's pervy as buck!" He jumped back, feeling almost creeped out by the grey pony's motives.

"Uh-huh, keep saying that... We'll see who's laughing when-... Buck!" Luna passed around a corner, blocking off his view of her completely. "I was so close too! Damnit!" He stomped his hoof on the floor out of frustration, bringing him a small demeaning laugh from his winged friend.

"Oh sweet Celestia! You're such an idiot, as if Princess Luna would lift her tail for you!" He adopted an evilly glorious smile, feeling like he had exacted revenge in some way. "I guess it serves you right for making up that crap about me liking Princess Celestia. Next I bet you'll be saying that Singh likes Princess Cadence, although knowing your pervy self, you may try to sneak a peek at her too."

"Mmn... no, not really. I don't really find Cadence as attractive. No offence, Captain." The other Guard tilted his head, looking past Chester.

"No worries, that makes two eyes less looking at my wife." Shining Armour stepped forth from behind Chester, chuckling lightly as he approached the Guard. "Anyway, I'm in need of your assistance Tuwhat."

Tuwhat blinked twice and brought his neck back, clearly surprised by his captain's need of him. "S-sure, but what for?"

"The Princesses are conducting a very important spell from the balcony. I can't go into details here, but I can tell you that it's _very _important that you lend us a helping hoof." Shining took another step closer to his Guard.

Tuwhat took a nervous step back, unsure about whether he wants to play such a significant role in his superior's scheme. "A-aren't you more suited for it, being just about the most powerful Unicorn in Canterlot and all?"

Shining lowered his head and sighed. "Unfortunately not." He brought his head back up, locking serious eye contact with his subordinate. "We need all the help we can get with this matter. Just me and the Princesses isn't enough to sustain it. We need a powerful unicorn like you to help us."

"Well, uh... I don't think that I'll be a good choice for this, there are many more talented unicorns than me in the palace, it may be worth asking them instead." The ever-so-slightly-perverted-Royal-Guard-with-a-not- very-subtle-crush-on-Luna 's ears dropped, not feeling very comfortable with being trusted with such an important task.

"There are two Guards in the castle more gifted in magic than you." Shining's face was dead-panned and his voice blunt, speaking as though this were an obvious fact to the Guard. "I'll be asking them for help too, I'm under Celestia's orders to gather my best magic-using ponies. You'll be doing me, the Princesses, and possibly most of Equestria a huge favour by accepting this role, so whaddya say?"

Tuwhat's ears pricked up and his back straightened. "Wait, wait, wait. If I do this, I'll be doing the Princesses a favour...?" He inclined his head towards the Unicorn, awaiting a quick answer as confirmation of his query.

Shining blinked twice in quick succession, looking at his underling with an almost confused face. "Uhh... yeah, I guess...?"

The Guard moved his head further to Shining, looking upwards at him as he did so. "And I get to work _with _them too?"

"W-well, yeah. That... is the purpose of you hel-"

"Done!" Tuwhat grabbed the captain's hoof and shook it, treating the conversation as a business transaction. He released the white hoof and raised his own to his forehead, sticking his chest out vigilantly. "I'll head over there right away!" Then, quick as a hyperactive flea, he galloped off to the balcony, enthralled by the idea of working closely with his favourite Princess.

A big droplet of sweat slid down the side of Shining's head as he watched the suddenly very enthusiastic pony run off merrily, soon followed by him letting out a chuckle as he looked at the comical factor of it all. "Well I suppose that's him on board," He turned around and looked at the other Guard, whom's mouth was connected with the floor and his eyes white as a blank canvas. "...Chester? Hello...?" Shining walked over to him, waving his hoof in front of his face in an attempt to catch some form of attention, "Chester! Are you in there? Answer me!" After a few seconds the Guard captain stepped back, his horn giving off a magenta glow as he aimed it at Chester. A bolt of purple fired from the tip and hit the Guard square in the chest, shocking him into reality.

"Wah wha huh!?" Chester looked about frantically, trying to take in his surroundings after the shock of his return. He looked to his side, seeing an absence of a certain annoying somepony. "H-he's gone... that weirdo is gone!" A large smile rivaling that of our favourite pink mare's burst across his face, a sense of enlightenment filling his over-joyed body. "Yes! That annoying ass idiot is gone! Commander! How long will he be busy for!?" Chester turned to Shining Armour, his eyes glistening with pure hope and happiness.

Taken back by the Guard's sudden burst of energy, Shining took a bit of time to answer his question, stuck in conflicting thought as an appropriate answer started to form in his head. "Based on how progress has been in the past week, I'd say he'll be with us from anywhere between a day to a month. All of the other Guards already have their timetables full, so are you okay with working alone until Tuwhat comes back?"

An unbelievably large reservoir of energy emptied itself inside of Chester, his legs shaking from happiness and excitement. "Yes sir! I will get on duty immediately!" The Guard gave his commanding officer an enthusiastic salute, followed by him returning to an energetically stoic stance, staring at the Throne Room's hall entrance with a sickeningly happy beam.

Shining simply sighed, a smile slipping onto his face at the sight of his second happy subordinate. "Alright, I'll leave you to it." He turned from the Guard, exiting the room via the passageway to its left side. _Heh, I see a bright future for the newest generation of Guards._ He glanced back at the ecstatic Guard shaking on his post,_ They still have a bit of growing up to do, but their energy will come in handy when the time comes._ The captain turned his head back around and continued down the hall, on the search for the remainder of his men.

* * *

_**07:38 A.M. **Celestia's Castle 3rd floor, Balcony..._

Roughly 30 minutes after dispatching Luna and Shining Armour to gather their five strongest Unicorn Guards, Luna walked back in, a single Guard following her in suit.

"I've brought my five best magic Guards, as you requested sister." Luna indicated the Guard behind her to group with the other four Guards with the same attire and appearance as himself.

Celestia loosed a smile to her sister, nodding her head. "Thank you Luna, this now makes the ten best Unicorns in Canterlot Castle. Although..."

She gave a slightly ominous look at Luna's personal Guard, all of which were wearing Gothic era-styled armour and had wings resembling those of bats or dragons. Their irises were also a narrow oval shape, similar to what a feline's would become when exposed to high levels of light. In addition to all of this, they also had fang-like teeth where their canines were, which is an aberration shared by nopony else.

"Why do your Guard look like this? I'm fairly certain they were all normal ponies when they were first issued to you." Celestia shifted her gaze to Luna, giving her a concerned expression.

"O-oh, that..." The younger sister averted her eyes, blushing slightly as she focused on the corner of the sun-lit balcony. "Well at first I thought that it would kinda cool to have guards that looked like this, so I started to draw a few pictures of ponies looking like this during my spare time. And one day I forgot to bring my weekly reports with me to my office, so I asked Thritcher Stitch here to retrieve them for me." Luna held her hoof out to one of her Guards, indicating that he was the one she was talking about. "He got to my room and found the reports... underneath my drawings..." Her face mixed into a slightly deeper red. "He brought them back to me, along with the drawings..." She lifted her head back up to look at Celestia. "He said they looked cool and asked if I could use a transformation spell on him to make him look like the drawing, and I really wanted to have guards that looked like my drawings so... I agreed...?" A small 'Squee' escaped Luna as she pulled an almost cheeky grin.

Celestia gave her a hard stare, one that clashed with the young Princess' very being. "So why are the others like that too?"

Luna let out an audible gulp, her face contorting as if to hide fear. "Upon seeing Thritcher, other Guards wanted to get transformed too... So I did, and eventually all of my Personal Guard had become styled after how I wanted them... to... be..." Luna shrank her head down from her sister, all of the Guards under her guidance doing the same.

Celestia continued her stare, her eyes narrowing as she focused solely on her sister. Luna shrank her body down even further from Celestia's hardening stare, feeling something really bad coming. All of a sudden Celestia's head bopped very slightly, her mouth becoming askew. She almost instantaneously burst into a very, _very_ minute fit of giggles, only just being able to keep a regal atmosphere about her as she did.

Confused out of her mind, Luna stood back up and took a step towards her older sister. "B-big sister? Are you okay...?"

Calming herself down somewhat, Celestia regained her partially lost composure and ceased giggling. And in its place she gave Luna the warmest of smiles, although small flicks of her laughter could be subtly heard in her voice. "Yes, yes, I'm quite alright Luna. But I must ask, why are you so embarrassed by the appearance of your Guard?"

Luna's mouth hung itself ajar, the result of her brain not fully processing what she had heard, mainly out of disbelief. "I-I'm not embarrassed by their appearance! I just thought you would disagree with how they looked, so I thought I was going to get into trouble for changing the way they looked..." The night Princess' face fell, pulling an overly cute display of sincerity.

Celestia's voice grew warm and alluring, a soothing tone playing from her lips like a well played instrument. "Why would I tell you off for being artistic with full consent, Luna? In fact, how could I tell you off? We're sisters, not mother and daughter." Luna looked up to her sister, her immediate gaze being met directly by a wonderful beam of brilliance that laid upon the Alicorn's mouth. "I also find their appearance to be quite... exciting, as well. It makes a nice change to the usual armour that the Guards are required to wear."

Luna began to form a smile and opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off before she started by Foil Work, one of the Royal Guard. "With all due respect, your highness, would it be possible for you to explain why we're gathered here? It has some of us... worried." This pony had obviously been a Guard for quite a while, he had the mannerisms; the poise; the serious tone; and, most importantly, experience in how to talk to the Royal family.

The white Alicorn gave him a small nod. "Yes, of course Foil Work." She turned her attention to the rest of the group. "The reason as to why I have had you all summoned here, is for the purpose of withholding an intricate and very powerful spell..."

* * *

_My most faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle:_

_I'm afraid I had another reason for sending Corpus to you. You see, he is apparently, or rather was, originally a 'human'. I did a bit of research on what a 'human' is and have discovered that they are somewhat related to Centaurs. Learning this, I'm sure that you'll now find him as interesting as I do and probably have a lot of questions needing answers. But for now, I wish to give you a very important task:_

_Firstly, I'd like you to accommodate him for the next five days and teach him how to use magic. He may have a horn and be as old as you and your friends, but he's still in need of growth. Be sure to teach him the fundamentals and help him let his magic grow, this will be very important for your next task. I shall send you another letter in five days detailing of what you need to do._

_Your's faithfully,  
- Princess Celestia_

* * *

_My most Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle:_

_I'm sending this letter to you in regards to Corpus. He is to meet the next pony whom will be looking after him in front of the Ponyville fountain in two hours. And, like with you, he shall be staying there for five days. I hope that you have helped him find his magical expertise and have tutored him in the various ways in which it can be used._

_As for now, it'd be best for you two to get Corpus' stuff collected together ready for tomorrow. He shall be learning something very important over the next few days that will surely help him on many occasions in the future._

_Spike, can you hand over the letter to Twilight please? The next part is for her eyes only._

_**XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI XIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXI IXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX IXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIXIX **_

_Twilight, I wish to give you your next task. Please meet me at the Canterlot Castle tomorrow morning,  
I'll need your assistance in a very complicated and powerful spell. The reason as to why is as followed:_

_ For a while before Corpus arrived, I had been feeling a strange sensation come over me,  
as if there were something changing in the atmosphere around us. This strange feeling reached its peak mere moments before he was brought to  
__my presence a few days ago. But I am experiencing this strange phenomena yet again, so I assume that another human is bound  
to enter Equestria again in the very near future. It is of the utmost importance that we locate this human and make contact  
with it before anything bad happens, for we don't know if they are hostile or friendly, due to our only human having amnesia._

_And so Luna, Cadence, Shining Armour and I are going to be conducting a Field of Detection spell, over the entirety of our country of Equestria.  
This would be too much for just us four to handle on our own, and so I ask that you come to Canterlot Castle tomorrow morning and lend  
us your assistance with this spell. But even with the five of us, I estimate that we may only be able to keep the spell up for  
a few days, so please be prepared to take some serious risks in order to bring about the assured safety of everypony we love and  
hold dear. __I also want you to keep this a secret from everypony as well, no-one can find out about this.  
This is a __matter that could affect the entirety of Equestria, and so extreme discretion is required._

_Our objective is to find the next human as soon as possible. But please remember, he/she may very well be violent,  
so it is __imperative that we keep the field active at **all** times. Once we have found the human's location,  
those of us currently out of shift will pursue and catch the target. _

_But my only fear is that the human may already be in our world,  
commit unlawful acts, but remain unable to detect unless an abnormal amount of energy were to be created at its location.  
It is for this reason that we shall be starting tomorrow morning. So please be sure to be awake and ready to leave  
once the Pegasi carriage arrives at the library tomorrow._

_Your's faithfully,_

_- Princess Celestia_

_P.S. Please ask Spike for the message that I sent him yesterday, it is intended for whomever you deem worthy to know, but I suspect the  
information contained on the message will definitely come into most use for you._

* * *

**Mwahaha! The mystery of the letters continue! :D**

**Don't really have much to say, other than I hope you enjoyed this chapter ^^**

**Oh, quick heads up. It will be a while until I release the next chapter for 3 reasons.**

**1. It is veeeery long... =_= (This is the good 'ugh, tired' face)  
2. I shall be going back and updating previous chapters and overall improving them over the next few days.  
3. My laptop's going to be confiscated for a period of time (most likely until Dec 20th or so :P), but I will still be able to write PMs via my phone ^^**

**Anyway, review on the good, the bad, and the myeh! **

**Until next time,  
**

**Bye bi!**


	24. Chapter 24: The 12th Day: Plowing Fields

**Author's Note:**

**Happy New Year's! ^^ Well, for me anyway, most of you probably have a few hours to go still XD Unless you're to the west of or in England too, in which case: Happy New Year's... again! Why aren't you with your family? Seriously, shouldn't you be in a circle shouting and cheering with everypony else? :P And for those who're further East than myself, then I suppose you had your's a while ago. Wait... why aren't you in bed? It's gone three in the morning! Stop or you'll be worse than me! XD Regardless, I wish you all a great new year! ^^**

**Right, before we get started, just a few things I'd like to say:**

**1. I've finished most of my studying, so there's just about nothing standing in between me and TWOIK :D  
2. The profile picture's now updated and I've uploaded the file onto DA, the link is hiore! _ art/TWOIK-Profile-Picture-1-345959200 _Just as a note, I gave up on that tree... it pissed me off too much... XD  
3. There's no third thing, I just wanted to put this here :3**

**I'd also like to make a very important shout-out to IWubYew, the first person (to my knowledge) that I've ever inspired in anything at all! ^_^ Upon him  
telling me this, I almost exploded with pure delight and excitement! So in order to try and keep this feeling and (partial?) inspiration going, I'm gonna work my arse off to get this story back on its original tracks! :D**

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy for the first time in ages! ^_^**

* * *

_**7:04 A.M. **Apple house, upstairs restroom..._

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Applejack smashed her hoof into the wall next to her whilst harshly muttering to herself. "What in tha name of Celestia were you _DOIN'  
_last night!?" She slowly retracted her hoof from the wall, looking to the floor and placing her head in her hoof in anger and disappointment. "You did _THAT_ ta Twahlight's guy! An' right next ta Applebloom too! **RAARGH!**" She slammed her hoof onto the sink in rage, a loud bang emanating from the porcelain bowl. "Darn this stupid heat! Darn it to hell! An' darn me there too, fer not even bein' able ta stop it!" Letting off steam from her curses and abuse of her surrounding environment, the mare closed her eyes as a few small tears began to take form at their ends. A few held back sobs broke their way through her, jolting her chest in abrupt shocks.

"A-Applejack? Are you alright?" A scared voice seeped through the closed door, causing the mare to bite her tongue and turn her head.

"Y-yeah. Ah am, Applbloom. Jes'... irritated that tha lightnin' scared me is all..." A tear rolled down her face, every last ounce of her energy being used to barely hold her voice together.

"Oh." The voice picked up in volume slightly, its previous aspect of fear leaving it. "Well don' feel bad Applejack, Ah think Corpus was scared too. He really looked freighten'd when Ah came inta his room last night, and he was all sweaty too!"

The mare almost choked on a sob, that last part hitting her heart like a dagger of guilt.

"Besides, doesn't Big Macintosh sometimes get a lil scared when it's lightenin' outside?"

AJ sniffed, her nose starting to get a little runny as a result of her being about to cry. "Y-yeah, thanks Applebloom... Now run along, Granny Smith'll get breakfast ready soon." Again, her voice was on the verge of cracking into pieces.

"Okay!" The chirpiest of tones rang out from the filly's voice, accompanied by light hoofsteps trotting away from the door.

Once she couldn't hear her sister's hoofsteps any longer, Applejack lowered her defenses and broke into more tears, falling onto her haunches with her head in her hooves. "D-Darn it... *sniff* ...A-Ah cheated on mah best friend... And Ah- *sniff* Jes', darn it..." Her voiced trailed off, not wanting to recall anymore of the previous night into her mind for the pain of guilt was becoming too much. Despite this, she gritted her teeth and spoke of one more action, her voice straining itself to admit to herself the consequence of her actions. "Ta make it worse, A-Ah made him- *sniff* -c-...cum... inside..." She brought her head back and looked at her stomach, shedding more tears over it.

"You in there Sugahcube?" The mare's eyes shot open, dreading the creaky voice belonging to her grandmother getting any closer. "Applebloom jes' came ta me an' told me you were feelin' a bit down. Mind if Ah come in?"

AJ took a deep breath, trying to stabilize her voice long enough to give an answer. "A-Ah don' really wanna talk about it now Granny, sorry..."

"...Applejack... you did somethin' durin' heat, din'cha?"

The orange mare quickly turned her head to the door, a mixture of shock and sadness melding into her voice. "H-how did ya-"

"It's that time in tha cycle again, and Ah did some nasty things when Ah was a young-un too!" The elderly pony let out a small laughter, easing and disturbing her granddaughter at the same time. Truly an art only the great can perform... "Listen, Applejack. When we're in heat, us mare's can hardly be called Ahselves. We're overtaken by lust and ll... Lll-... gosh darnit, what was that word...?"

After taking another sniff, Applejack gave an answer in a crumbling voice. "Libido?"

"That's the one! Guess that's left mah mind as well as mah body, hehehe." AJ's face distorted itself from the weirdness and the comedy of the statement, almost reverberating the reaction to her grandmother's earlier statement. Again, a feat impossible to replicate... "Anyway, look. Anything that we do when under heat, we can't be held responsible fer. We don' make tha decisions durin' that time, Ah hormones do."

Applejack raised a hoof off the floor slightly as she turned her head more, confronting her grandmother's words. "But Ah've never done this before! Fer the past few years Ah've never, ever given in ta lust, Ah always fought it!" Slowly realizing where she was leading this, the mare turned back around and looked solemnly at the floor. "...It's mah fault that this time Ah-"

"It's not yer fault."

Hearing such a declaration made with absolute conviction, Applejack twisted her body back to look at the closed door, giving the old voice behind it all of her attention.

"Tell me, Sugahcube, who've ya been around every other time you've been in heat?"

Taking yet another sniff, she answered, a hint of confusion lurking in her response. "Jes' you, Big Mac an' Applebloom. An', Braeburn once."

"An' what about this time?"

"Tha same as usual, only Corpus is here too..."

"Precisely."

Unsure how to respond, Applejack sat quietly for a moment, trying to concoct some form of reasoning to her grandmother's deduction.

"Can ya really not tell me why ya didn' go fer Big Mac or Braeburn before Corpus?"

She shook her head, despite knowing that the elderly pony couldn't see her. "N-no, I can't..."

"It's because they're fam'ly, an' Corpus isn't."

Sitting dumbstruck, the cow-pony could only silently watch as the bathroom door slowly opened and her elder emerged from the propped aperture. Making her shaky path over to the despairing youth, Granny Smith gave a warm smile as she continued to speak.

"Heat is all about fillin' sexual desires and findin' somepony ta mate with, so it's only natural that fam'ly members are taken outta tha equation. Otherwise everypony'd be stayin' at home, not searchin' tha streets fer any lone stallions." The green, wrinkled grandmother laid a hoof on the mare's shoulder, the latter of whom turned the rest of her body around to accept the kind gesture. "This was tha first time you'd spent this curse of a time about anypony who ya wouldn't naturally resist, so Ah can understand why ya would think it yer fault first. But believe me when Ah tell ya this," She pulled in for a hug, giving the younger the warmest form of comfort in existence, the love of family. "It will never be yer fault if ya truly didn't want it ta happen," She loosened the embrace, leaning back enough to shine her smile upon Applejack's face, "Alright Sugahcube?"

Feeling her resistance becoming reduced to nothing, the mare's eyes exploded with watery drops of happiness and clung to her grandmother's shoulders as she continued to cry, letting out clear words between the sobs. "Thank you Granny! Ah really, really love you! Yer always- hic -there fer me, ya never leave me behind an' ya always make me feel better, no matter how bad Ah feel!" Tightening the hug slightly, a wide smile crept itself onto Applejack's lips.

Returning the warm grace, the elderly pony gently rubbed Applejack's mane and spoke softly. "That's okay, Sugah. Ah'll always be there fer ya. Actually, Ah have a little gift here fer ya."

Dissipating the hug, AJ only raised an eyebrow to the Granny's offer. "Ya really din' need ta get me anythin' Granny, Ah've got all Ah want right here."

"But not everythin' ya _need_." After rummaging her hoof about her back for a few moments, Granny Smith pulled out a small paper bag and held it out to Applejack. "You'll need these if ya don' wanna get pregnant." The mare took the bag into her hooves and inspected it.

Having taken the bag and relieved it of its contents, AJ stared silently at the small box in her hooves, trying to figure out what it was for.

"Ah, what did tha chemist say they were? Err... oh! They're Post-Coital Pills! Yer ta take one within a few days of havin' unprotected sex, ta keep yerself from gettin' pregnant."

"So I jes'... eat one of them?" Because of having no prior experience of any pills or tablets of any kind, the farm-pony had no idea about the ingestion or function of such medication.

"Ehh, kinda. Ya have ta put one in yer mouth an' gulp it down with some water. It'll do something or other ta keep tha foal from being formed. Ah jes' hope it doesn't give ya bad nausea or vomitin', Ah woulda hope that medical science had improved since Mah days..."

Following her grandmother's orders, Applejack turned about and grabbed the glass on the side of the sink, promptly filling it with water and placing it back down. She lifted the box up to her chest afterwards, grabbing one end with her hoof and opening it, tilting the container to her open hoof to receive the pill once able to. Due to no hoof-friendly packaging, several pills flowed from the box's innards and onto her hoof.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down there fellas! Ah only need one of ya fer the moment."

After pouring the excess pills back into their box, Applejack placed said object on the sink's side and took up the full glass in its place. After placing a pill into her mouth, she took a large mouthful of water and gulped it down, the pill travelling down her throat with the refreshing drink.

Letting out a small sigh, Applejack poured the rest of the water down the sink and picked up the medication box, turning back to her grandmother afterward. "So what do Ah do with this? Ah don' really wanna leave it in here where Big Mac an' Applebloom can see it." She indicated to the toiletry cabinet behind her, placed neatly above the sink in a generic fashion.

"Don'chu worry about that Sugah, Ah'll keep it in mah room in mah bloomers drawer. Nopony's going ta be lookin' around in there anymore!" The old pony started to laugh, her creeky voice still remaining in that too.

Giving a few chuckles herself, Applejack handed the box over to her. "Then Ah'll leave it to you then. But, one question."

Granny took the box and raised an eyebrow. "What would that be?"

"...Why're you actin' so odd today? Ah've never heard ya tell such cringing jokes before..." AJ's ears fell, symbolizing her concern for the elder.

"Oh! Well Ah'm jes' getting old!" Again, the grandmother let out another series of strained laughs. Soon stopping and placing a hoof on the younger's shoulder. "An' Ah suppose Ah'm a lil' excited about mah lil' Pumpkin growin' up an' all, reminds me of mah first time in heat. Only Ah hope you were more sensible, tha's why Ah only brought pills."

Applejack furrowed a brow and raised the other, retreating her head so slightly in addition. "What could be worse than unwillin'ly gettin' pregnant? Ah'm more than a mite sure tha's near as bad as it gets."

"Tha's a story fer another time, Ah'm afraid yer'll be put inta shock if ya heard it whilst you were too young." Retracting her hoof from the orange shoulder, Granny Smith turned face and began to walk towards the door, stopping after a few steps and inferring Applejack's departure first with a simple head movement. To which the mare responded by following in suit, stopping next to her grandmother soon thereafter. "Do ya think ya could get breakfast started whilst Ah wake up tha free laborer?"

"Ah, sure. Oats an' apples today, right?"

"Yep, that sounds about right."

Turning her head back to its natural position, the elder walked out of the bathroom with Applejack just behind her. Once near the stairway, the two split from each other and headed to their individual destinations. As soon as she approached the guest room, Granny Smith raised a shaky hoof and knocked on the door a few times, awaiting an answer.

"Hello? May Ah come in?" After knocking on Corpus' door and getting no response, the ancient took it upon herself to allow herself entry into the room instead. Upon taking hoof into the room, she was greeted with the sight of the brown stallion lying on his back, mouth wide open, one hoof over the side, and the quilt resting near his hind-hooves; giving the Granny enough of a comical view to let out a few wheezes at his expense. "Now come on young-un, get up." She rocked his body back and forth a little, still getting no response from him. "Ah said, get up young-un." She spoke in a louder voice as she picked up the rocking strength, still receiving no word or action of acknowledgement. "Sheesh, yer a hard one ta wake up aren't ya? Well, jes' try ta sleep through this!" Putting on a challenging tone, the elder brought out a trumpet from behind her back, licked her dry, old lips, and took a deep breath. Once filling her lungs with the sufficient air, she exhaled in a mighty gust into the instrument's mouthpiece.

* * *

"Applejack, can Ah help cut tha apples?" The small filly jumped up onto a small box next to her sister and placed her hooves on the worktop, watching her as she prepared breakfast.

Giving her a smile, the mare reached over for the cutlery and fruit. "Sure thing Applebloom," Grabbing both objects, she held them over to the part of the worktop next to her, "Jes' make sure ta be careful, those knives are pretty shar- HNNG!"

A loud, unexpected blast of noise caused Applejack to jolt on the spot, the knife and apples flying out of her hoof as her body stiffened in a frightened position. Seeing the apples fall down towards her, Applebloom held out a hoof and caught them in a small stack, dropping them instantly with an 'Eep' as the knife came down and impaled both apples, holding them down to the worktop.

Shaking her head, AJ broke from her fixed position and glared at the ceiling, a mixed look of concern and anger arising on her face. "W-was tha' Granny Smith's trumpet!?"

The little filly had grabbed the knife with both hooves and was trying to pry it from the fruit, attempting to hurry on with breakfast. "A-Ah think so," Giving up her futile effort, she turned to her sister and let go of the tool, "But what would she be blarin' it that loud fer? It's still so early..."

Drawing the knife from its juicy stand, AJ passed the utensil to her sister's possession. "The only thing Ah can think of would be ta wake Corpus up with it..." Giving the ceiling a final few seconds of being under her gaze, she shook her head and redirected her attention to the meal preparations at hand. "But Ah doubt she'd do that. He may be a bit of a heavy sleeper, but she shouldn't have ta resort ta that ta get him up." Applejack returned to chopping up a few apples alongside her sister, slowly letting the ordeal float over her head.

* * *

Granny Smith stood next to Corpus' bed, gasping heavily with the trumpet still in one hoof. After staring at the motionless body for a second or two longer, she dropped the trumpet and widened her eyes in near angry disbelief. "What in tarnation!? How're ya _still_ asleep!? Ah... Ah give up..." Picking up her trumpet and turning away, the pony walked towards the doorway. She gave a slight head-turn once she reached the opening, just to confirm on last time that he still hadn't woken up. "Unbelievable, just how much of your energy did Applejack expend last night...?" She left the room, closing the door lightly behind her.

After her departure, a small bird flew onto the partially open windowsill, chirping away to its friends in the trees outside on the main fields. With the cute little noises flying bout the room in short bursts, my eyes slowly started to open, my brain getting a steady start into gear.

"Mm...? A-...Aauuuugh..." Giving a long yawn, I look to the window to see a small shadow on the green curtains. After giving it a prolonged stare, I managed to work up the motivation to leave the bed to bring silence to the room again. "Come on, it's too early to be making those noises." I roll onto my side and slide off the bed, making my groggy way to the window and bringing back the curtain, "Just fly awa- Aahhh! It's bright!" Staggering back from the rays of natural light hitting my face, I out my hooves over my eyes and the curtain falls into its neutral position again. Once the beams had ceased blessing my retinas with their burning intensity, I took my hooves from my face and peeked at the curtains, seeing them blocking out some of the light again. "Okay, now to close the window..." Creating cautious effort, I move my hoof up under the curtain and make to grab the handle for the window. Only for my umpteenth grabbing attempt to fail again. "Oh for the love of- Why're you so useless!? Why can everyone else grab stuff when I can't!? Why!?"

_(Well you're a bit noisy this morning.)_

"Sorry, but this is a matter that I take to heart, and it's happened far too many times to be funny."

_(I think there're a few whom'd disagree with you there.)_

"...Who're you talking about? The only other pony who knows of my inability to grab things with my hooves is Celestia, and I doubt that she'd be laughing at that."

* * *

**_7:35 A.M. _**_Celestia's Castle 3rd floor, Balcony..._

"Um, Your highness? Why're you smiling like that?" Tuwhat looked up to his ruler as they departed the balcony with Shining and the other five Royal Guard, raising a single brow to accommodate his question.

"Hm?" Celestia looked down at her subject, giving a small giggle as the thought became refreshed in her mind. "Oh, just a funny situation I ran into a couple of weeks ago. Did you know there are some ponies who can't grab objects with their hooves?"

Staying silent, Tuwhat let the only noise on the balcony remain at being the combined hoofsteps of his peers and regal figure. Until, that is, he burst out laughing. "Wait, wait, wait, we're talking about a full-grown pony, right?"

Accompanying her subject's laughter with her own soft reprise, the Alicorn noddded. "He looks to be about 18, but I suspect he still has a bit of growing to do."

"That's bucking hilarious! How did he look when he tried?"

Keeping her laughter in check with a strained smirk, the Princess gave an almost stable answer. "He kept getting very frustrated that he couldn't grab things, and eventually threw miniature tantrums whenever an attempt failed." She took a deep breath to calm herself, most of her uncontrollable giggles leaving her throat once she had. "I know I shouldn't laugh at my subjects, but this was a bit of a special occasion."

Wiping a tear of laughter from his eye, the Guard looked back up to her. "Or a 'Special' occasion, if you catch my drift." He, again, fell into a small fit of laughter.

Meanwhile, two other Guards behind them exchanged a few whispers between each other.

"Hey, do you think the Princess is acting a little... odd?"

"I don't really know, but I've never seen her laugh like this before."

"I've just never seen her laugh! Do you think Sleep deprivation's getting to her a bit?"

They both directed their attention to the humoured Alicorn, looking back to each other after.

"No, I think she's actually being sincere..."

* * *

_**Same Time. **Apple House, Corpus' Room..._

_(Yeah, you're probably right. So what're you having trouble grabbing?)_

"This bloody window handle. I want to close it, but I can't grab a hold of the handle." Trying again, I instantly fail and barely suppress the urge to break out into a small tantrum.

_(You could always use magic, y'know? It'd probably save you a bit of anger.)_

I bump my right hoof into the flat of my other, looking blankly at the curtain. "Oh yeah, forgot about that."

_(Y-... You're kidding me, right? Please tell me you're joking...)_

"O-Of course I am! Haha..." A small droplet of sweat ran down my head. "There's no way I could... forget the main method I get things done by..."

After standing in silence for a moment or two, I quickly bring the window to before Ly would have a chance to speak up again.

"There we go. Now I can go back to- wait..." I sniff at the air, a nice, sweet scent coming from my door was reaching my nose and creating loud rumblings in my stomach. "That... smells really good..." A low grin molds onto my face as I become entranced by the lovely aroma, my tummy getting louder as more of the scent fills me. Following my stomach's plea, I make my way to the door half-mindedly.

_(Wait, what about your bed? you haven't even made it yet!)_

"That's unimportant right now, something really, _really_ good is cooking! I can fix the quilt after breakfast." I open the door and begin a short trip to the stairs, following my nose to the source of the scent, food.

_(In all honesty, that smells a lot more like lunch than breakfast. Are you sure you didn't oversleep or something?)_

"Silly, silly Ly, birds don't chirp in the afternoon, so it must be breakfast time." Evidently, my thoughts and speech are made into odd deformities of their usual self, I guess being this hungry really does put you out of your mind...

_(Wait, don't go down there!)_

"I'm not listening~ Food's awaiting me~!" I take a step onto the stairs.

_(I said **stop!**)_

I instantly froze on the spot. The tone Ly used kinda scared me, it felt deathly serious about something.

_(Thank you... Sorry for shouting, but we can't go down there.)_

"W-why not? We need to eat, and after this there'll be no meals for a few hours." I retracted my hoof from the stair and stood at the top again, my stomach throwing, what an idiot such as myself would interpret as, 'Slanderous growls'.

_(I know, and I'm going to suffer from the lack of food myself, but we can't come into contact with Applejack for the next few days. It's just too risky.)_

"I know but... wait, do you mean- what happened last night- it wasn't-!" My mouth fell on its hinges, hanging low as I took a few steps away from the stairs. "That _really _happened last night!? I wasn't dreaming all of it!?"

_(Wha- how could you mistake that for a dream!? All of the data from last night is saved into your body's Experience Archives, not to mention that you were bucking terrified last night!)_

"I-I just thought I was having another dream, like the morning before!" My heartbeat was beginning to quicken, realizing that I was stuck in a household with next to no escape. Thinking about it, even if I escape, I'll have to answer to an angry Celestia about why I bailed on her task half-way!

_(There's a big difference between dreams and reality! Surely you should have been able to tell from the dramatic difference in sensations you felt, her body should have felt much more real and the stimulations should have been much more present!)_

"I just cast it off as impossible to take place! Think about it, for the entire day she was completely fine! Albeit the morning could have been infinitely better, but such a dramatic twist in personality isn't natural! Surely you can understand why I thought the whole ordeal was fiction?"

_(I guess I can, yeah. Anyway, just talking about it won't get anything done. We need to completely avoid her whilst getting on with everything we're asked to, otherwise a repeat of last night could come around.)_

I shook my head, dissatisfied with Ly's plan. "How can we get on with work when we're avoiding the person issuing them to us?"

_(Damnit. Umm... oh! Big Mac! He's AJ's older brother, so he should be liable to give us a few jobs to get on with as well!)_

I raise a hoof to my chin, pondering about the possibility. "I guess that could work... Wait," I remove the hoof just as quickly as it found its way to my face. "If Big Mac and Applebloom are going to be around, then she won't have any chance of doing anything!" My face lit up with joy, hope still remained for me yet.

_(There's no chance of that happening either, she didn't even stop in front of Applebloom last night, remember?)_

I rested myself onto my haunches, ears flopping down and face directed to the floor beneath me. "Damn. There's no safe point..." I sat in solemn silence, the gears in my head slowly turning until they clicked together, forcing my hoof to my mouth at the sudden memory of a near traumatic experience. "Oh God..."

_(What? What happened? Why're you... oh crap I forgot about that...)_

My hooves were shaking wildly, my pupils shrinking as my irises expanded both inward and outward, a disgusting taste manifesting onto my tongue. A taste so strong that I couldn't even open my mouth, leaving the words to smash about inside of my skull in the form of relentless thoughts. _I-...I... I kissed Applebloom! _I started flailing my head from side to side, trying to dismiss the horror from my mind. _No, no, no, no, no! That's so wrong! It's bad, bad, bad! How could I fucking kiss a child!? Wait! It may have been platonic! Ly! Please tell me it was platonic! _Even though I was only speaking in thoughts, my voice still managed to make a pathetic peak.

_(Well I can't imagine any of us kissing a child in the first place, yet alone without platonic intentions. But even if you're being controlled by your lust for sex,)_

That hit pretty hard... makes me feel like a pervert...

_(You wouldn't try and find any form of alternative in a child, we're not that bucked up in the mind.)_

_Yeah... I suppose so..._ The taste slowly began to leave my mouth, along with my ability to speak returning. "I really don't want to experience any of that again, it was a complete hell-ride."

Suddenly the sound of running water and the clattering of plates started to ring upstairs, making me very alert to the close-to-muffled sounds coming from the lower level of the house. It was pretty hard to catch wind of what was being said and done at first, but after the plates and water stopped making noises, I could start to hear voices near the bottom of the stairs.

"Thanks fer cookin' that up fer us Applejack, that was great as always."

"It wasn't all that, Granny. Ah jes' threw in a couple of fritters instead of leavin' the apples raw.

"It was still a great meal anyway, Ah jes' feel a lil' bad that Corpus missed it."

I don't know whose voice that belongs to, but the fact that the meal was good enough for her to feel bad about me not getting any was pushing me to tears. I'm _reeeeaaaally_ hungry~...

"Speakin' of which, he's still sleepin' ain't he? Do ya think ya could wake him up fer me? Ah know y'all need ta get going fer that delivery, but it'd be easiest if you woke him."

There wasn't a response to Applejack's request, but I did hear hoofsteps getting closer and closer until their sound became slightly resounded in the small hollow under the stairs. Someone was coming up!

_Crap! Someone's coming! Quick, quick, quick!_

I dashed to my bedroom as quickly, and quietly, as I could, bringing the door to a close once I was inside. Swiftly making my way to my bed, I quickly jumped on and lay on my back with my limbs stretched in random directions, hoping that I had gotten my earlier position right.

_Ohh~... laying on my back's so uncomfortable..._

_(You'll have to suck it up for now, we need to be completely silent if we don't want them to think we're awake.)_

_I know, that's why I'm thinking and not tal-_

I ended my thought mid-sentence as I heard the door creak open, heavy hoofsteps coming closer to me after. I kept my motion at absolute zero, doing my best to give the illusion that I was still sound asleep. Soon, though, the hoofsteps stopped, the owner of them being a mere foot or two away from me. Without any warning, I felt a hoof press itself against my side and push me with great force, causing my body to rock like a boat on stormy tides. AJ's voice was the last one I heard, the one that made the request of my awakening, so I knew that it wasn't her trying to get me up. Guess I'll put my faith into it and pretend to wake up...

"Mmn...?" I turn my flailing head slowly, opening my eyes as I did so, trying to lock onto the figure that was viciously shaking me.

Upon seeing me begin to stir, the pony ceased the shaking, allowing me to see who it was. Though, the voice alone would've been enough to give me a hint. "Mornin'." Again with the simple answers and monotonous voice, it's hard not to love this guy, isn't it?

"Mmn... morning Big Mac..." I stretch out my limbs, keeping the facade that I've been sleeping all this time. "What time is it?"

"Coming up ta Eight, so it's time ta get ta work." He took a step back, giving me some room to dismount onto the floor with.

Following his gesture, I climbed from my bed and landed my hooves on the floor, giving a fake yawn as I spoke. "Aauukay, so what jobs am I doing today?" I turn about and face my bed, grabbing the quilt with my magic and planting it back softly to how it originally was. Or, at least close to how it was...

"Dunno, ya gonna hafta ask Applejack about that one."

_God damnit! Why can't you give me one!?_

"Although," Y'know, it's kinda funny. Just that single word was able to relight my hopes enough to keep my depression from becoming visible in my appearance. Words are really weird things. "Ah was jes' plowing some a tha seed fields before breakfast, an' Ah only got about half a them done. So if ya feel like it, ya could ask Applejack ta let ya have a go at it."

Not exactly what I was looking for, but I suppose that it'll do well enough. "Gotcha, I'll ask her once I get downstairs."

Just as the Red stallion was about to talk, my stomach growled loudly, cutting him off before he even started. "...Ya sound a mite hungry. There's some leftover food downstairs if ya want it."

"Ah, thanks... Hehe..." I lowered my head partially as a small, red glow began to light up a portion of my face. Without a word, Big Mac turned around and started to casually walk towards the door, soon heading out and making way for the stairs. "H-hey, where're you going?" I followed him out, catching up rather quickly.

"Ah have a delivery Ah need ta make. Need ta get 18 Apple Pies to somepony jes' outside'a Ponyville, could take a while so Ah'm heading out now." He continued to walk, not turning his head to face me once for the duration of his explanation.

"O-okay, guess I'll see you when you get back?" _Please don't leave! What if Applejack goes into that weird mood again! You can't leave me to handle that alone~!_

"Eeyup." There we are! The special line he kept using yesterday! I have a feeling that I may end up using that sometime in the future...

_...Really want to ask what time he'll be back, but that'll sound all strange and clingy..._

_(Well if they're just outside Ponyville, he should only spend about fifty minutes actually getting there. Assuming that they're at the furthest point from us, that is.)_

_Okay, so he'll be back in 2 hours tops? At least it's not too long... As long as I keep outside in the open fields I should hopefully be safe. If not, I want you to do everything you can to get me out of there, alright?_

_(Even without your permission, I'd still give it a go. Last night was traumatic for me as well, but you were so stricken with fear and lust that our synchronization was almost completely cut off. Just make sure that doesn't happen again, and I'll be able to get you out if it gets bad.)_

_I'll do my best._

Before I had even noticed it, we were in the downstairs hallway, just stood in front of the stairs. Big Mac was stood just outside attaching his harness to a cart stacked up with cardboard boxes. He turned back around and started to walk away, before noticing something off to his right. After a few seconds he turned to look at me, pointing off in the the direction he'd just been facing. "Applejack's just out here buckin' some trees, so jes' talk to her after you've eaten."

I nodded in response, to which he replied by walking off down the dirt path leading from the farm. "Guess we'll get eating then, got another rough day ahead of us after all."

_(Eeyup.)_

I chuckled at Ly's new sense of humour as I wandered into the kitchen. "Called it."

_(Not exactly. You said that you'd be using it, not me.)_

"Alright smart-arse, just let me have my moment at least." I began to rummage about some of the plates, finding a few... ehh... I don't know what these are, but if they're edible then I'm taking them.

_(Sure, sure, I'll give you a while... What're you picking up?)_

"I'm not completely sure," I levitated the small pastry-like thing to my nose, taking a snatch of its scent. "But whatever it is it smells delicious!"

I open my mouth to take a bite.

_(Whoa, whoa! Wait up!)_

I take the supposed snack from my mouth, pouting at Ly in the meanwhile. "What? Why stop me from filling my stomach?"

_(Well, what if it's... POISONED!?)_

"...You're being an idiot. Down the hatch!" I open my mouth wide as I direct the ballish-thing into it, chewing it hastily as Ly let out tortured screams like the idiot he's being. I swallowed so very audibly, licking my my lips after it went down. "That tastes amazing! Ly, you've gotta try one of these! Oh, that's right. You can't."

_(Wha- that's unfair! You can't say that kind of thing!)_ I released a sly grin as he protested in my head, feeling slightly more whole after getting him back for being an idiotic priss. _(Huh? What's that? I can!? Sweet, I'll give it a try!)_

I started to look around some more for another few of those balls, the voice in my head yammering away as I did so. "I didn't say anything." I moved my eyes over the clean platters again, catching sight of one partially sticking out from beneath another two.

_(I wasn't talking to you.)_

I lifted my head, giving him my attention as I addressed him. "Then who were you talking to?"

_(Just someone. Anyway, find more of those things, I want to try one!)_

Moving the dishes out of the way with my magic, I find a plate with another four of those things on it. Four! "Yes! More for me!" With eyes closed, I lift one up to my open mouth and prepare to ingest it. I bit down on the treat, only to find that I completely missed and, instead, mashed my chompers together. "What the...?" I open my eyes and, to my surprise, not only did I rhyme, but the snack had vanished! "What the hell!? Where is it!? It was right here!" I take a couple of steps back, searching frantically for the sweet nourishment that had gone missing.

_(Mwah! You're right, they ARE delicious!)  
_

"What're you talking about? Help me find this thing!" I looked back to the plate again, thinking that I may not have picked it up in the first place.

_(Apple flavour, and a very nice surrounding too. I think they're called fritters...)_

Based on what Ly had just said, I made a link in my mind as to the whereabouts of my delayed breakfast. "Ly...? When you said it was delicious... you weren't talking about-"

_(Your food? Yup. I see why you went crazy over it now.)_

"How the hell did you take it from me!? Not only that, but you ate it too! You don't have a physically manifested form! You're simply a string of thoughts bound together and somehow given a thought process of your own, how could you possibly steal and eat something from me!?"

_(Okay, a couple of things here. One: I'm a sub-consciousness, not a bundle of thoughts. I'm the source of your brain power, so of course I can generate my own thoughts. And two: It seems I can take stuff from the real world and put them in this one!)  
_

"But ho-!"

_(Teleportation magic.)_

...No bucking way... I'm not accepting that as an answer. Not only that, but the entire concept of him taking something from here is beyond explainable! "Don't mess around! Where did you put it!?"

_(As I said, I teleported it here and ate it.)_

"How could you possibly teleport something from the real world into my sub-conscious? It makes no physical sense!"

_(I just used the simple laws of teleportation magic. I could see the fritter because of your vision before-hand, and I can see everything around me in this inner world, so all I did was use your magic to compress the object from one area and move said magic and the object it's compressing to the other. Quite simple, really.)_

I stood there completely dumbfounded, my brain had found a way of breaking physics and stealing my food, and I didn't even think! "Just... how...?"

_(Don't dwell on it too much, let's just say a friend told me I could do it and so I tried. Don't worry, it takes quite a lot of magic power to do something like that, so I'm not going to use it again, for our safety.)_

"Quite a lot of magic? but I feel fine." I lift another fritter to my mouth, ready to try and forget this strange ordeal.

_(Here, I'll let you feel your remaining magic power.)_

All of a sudden the air around me became heavy and thick. I dropped the fritter and started breathing in large goes, feeling like I had just ran a marathon. "L-Ly... what... the hell... did you... do!?"

_(As I said, I used your magic to pull off a really hard spell. Well, the spell itself was hard, the concept was pretty easy.)_

"Just... stop... now... I don't want you... causing... me anymore... trouble..." I rested against the side of the kitchen worktop, catching my breath as I tried to reach for the fritter again. Stopping myself half-way as I realized that I can't pick objects up with my hoof.

_(Okey doke. Should I take the burden off a bit? You sound really bad.)_

"Yes... do that..." Just as quickly as the intense fatigue had hit me, the same weight left me and my breathing returned to normal. Feeling unbearably ravenous, I quickly grabbed the three remaining fritters and gobbled them down, one by one.

_(Holy crap! Slow down or you're gonna choke yourself!)_

Gulping loudly and letting out a huge sigh, I sat down, feeling pretty content at my little meal. "Whew, I feel so much better after that. Shall we get to work now, Ly?"

_(Y-yeah... just, promise me you won't try to eat so much in a few seconds again... I love to play pranks and such on you, but your health's important, don't do such reckless things...)_

"Wow, you're being really soft now. Did something happen without me realizing?" I trotted out of the kitchen and towards the front door, approaching the breezy entrance.

_(And you seem all chipper all of a sudden, at least my change in behavior had a reason.)_

"Mine had a reason too," Leaving the house, I look about and spot AJ hitting some trees. "I always feel much better after I've eaten, especially if it was something sweet." I lift my hoof and form a wave to Applejack's direction. "He~y! Applejack!" She stops herself mid-buck and gives a small wave back. Returning my hoof to the ground, I trot over to her, stopping a few metres away. Y'know, just in case.

"Good ta see that yer up, Granny Smith said she thought you'd never wake up."

_...Granny Smith? Who's that?_

_(Why're you asking me...?)_

_I didn't. Well, I did but, I was trying to draw attention to the mystery. So I did but didn't ask._

_(Well it accomplished the same thing in the end.)_

_Which is...?_

_(Nothing.)_

She brought her legs back and bucked the tree, several apples falling out and into baskets laying about the tree's base. Something looks a little off about her. Not the same kinda off as last night, but she seems... I don't know, it just feels a little awkward around here. "Today we don' really need a lot of apples, High Alert can be blamed fer that one. So I don't really have that much planned fer you ta get on with."

"Oh, Big Mac gave me the suggestion of finishing the field plowing he was doing before breakfast. I could do that if you want."

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea." She aimed her hoof at the barn behind me. I turned around and faced the compact storage building she was directing me to. "The crop fields are jus' behind the barn over yonder," She brought her hoof back to the ground. "I suspect Big Macintosh left tha plow on the fields themselves, so jes' make yer way over there and straddle yerself in."

"Gotcha." I turned to make my way to the fields, which were, luckily, quite far away from where AJ's at, so I should be safe for the day.

_(Wait up. Didn't Big Mac leave with the harness around his neck?)_

_A-ah, he did. _I turn back around, looking at a confused Applejack.

"Erm, do ya need somethin'? The fields're that way." She indicated with her hoof again, pointing me in the opposite direction to which I was facing.

"Actually, I need a harness..." I rubbed the back of my mane and chuckled, my personal 'Awkward-o-meter' starting to flicker towards the dangerous zone.

"Oh, Big Mac left with is one didn' he? Duh, silly me." She laughed to herself before approaching me. "There should be a spare in tha barn somewhere-" She stopped instantly, placing a hoof on my shoulder and spinning me around just after. "Which Ah'm sure ya can find on yer own!" She let loose a small, discomforted laugh.

"Y-yeah, thanks." I gave her a small saluting-waving thing that I've kinda confused myself with before walking away, earning a wave from her as she looked forth with an awkward smile on her face, before I turned to the barn's direction again.

"Oh, wait!" I turn back around, "Once ya've plowed the field, there should be some Lettuce, Radish and Carrot seeds in the barn fer ya ta plant. Ya might be able ta get some of those done before Big Mac gets back."

"Okay, I'll get to it then." Nodding, AJ went back to harvesting apples. Whilst I, myself, began walking to the barn, eager to get to safety.

_Oh crap! I almost crapped myself then! I thought she was gonna lead us into the barn where no-one could see us!_

_(I share your worries, I think my heart stopped for a moment there. Ah, but I don't have a heart. Yo hoh-!)_

_No references!_

_(W-...what? I was just acting on instinct...)_

_Sorry, it felt like you were about to reference something. I don't know, it's possibly just my imagination._

_(Yeah, I think it is. Meanie...) _Before I had noticed, we were stood at the barn's entrance, the door being partially open already.

_You say something? _I pushed the ajar frame to and opened the door, allowing sunlight to reach its interior.

_(No, nothing at all... Wait, we're at the barn already?) _I moved into the barn, looking about briskly for the spare harness needed.

"Yeah, you're just as surprised as I am." I begin to shuffle through some of the content within the barn, searching for the connector for the plow.

_(We should REALLY start paying more attention to what we're doing.)_

"I'm with ya there. Aha, found ya!" Moving a couple of paint cans out of the way, I find a spare harness laying on the shelf. It lifts up into the air with an orange coat about it, sliding nicely past my head and resting on my shoulders. "And it fits! This'll make things go much smoother." Happy at the find of the harness, I leave the barn and close the door behind me.

_(Right, all that's left is getting to the plow and plowing those fields to get ready for planting with your seeds!)_

"...I've no idea how you've done it, but you managed to turn farm work into a poorly constructed innuendo..."

_(It's a **greatly** constructed innuendo that was made on purpose, that's how it came about.)_

"Whatever you say, like it concerns me in any way. Actually, where you trying to insinuate anything by it? 'Cus I swear, if you were-"

_(No, of course not! As I said, that was bad for me too! Why the hell would I mock you for an experience I also suffered from? I can be playfully and charismatic-ally annoying,)_

"Don't forget modest..." I muttered quietly under my breath.

_(But I'm not a dick! I'm ashamed of how lowly you think of me.)_

"Sorry, but you're a really unpredictable bugger. I hardly expect half the stuff that comes out of your mouth, so blame my assumption on your randomness, not my opinion of you." I held my head up high and closed my eyes, acting like a pompous git to fit the moment.

_(Shifting blame is a coward's move, Y'know.)_

"I'm not shifting it, I'm pointing to it. An- Ow!" I rub my head and wince in pain. Looking forwards, I get a full view of a large piece of metal stuck in the ground, rooted earth piling up in little hills next to it in very long rows that span the length of the field.

_(Found the plow.)_

"Thanks for pointing it out, kinda hard to see with the plow itself blocking the way..." I stand myself up straight again and move around the tool, looking for the point at which I should attach to the harness.

_(You're welcome :3)_

I stopped, standing still with an abstract formation of confusion printed on my face. "...I'm... not even going to ask how you did that..." Slowly recovering from my status affliction, I used Odor Sleuth and began sear-

_(Hey! You told me not to make any references, yet here you are making them yourself! Hypocrite!)_

"I'm not a Hypocrite. Hypocrites are people-"

_(Ponies.)_

"...Are _ponies_ who pretend to act like someone they aren't. I simply gave you a command which I didn't bother myself with, that's all." Continuing my search, I found two metal rods that attach to the prongs coming from my harness.

_(Yo ho ho Skull Joke!)_

I jumped back from the plow, holding my wrist up to my mouth as my hoof dangled. "Haa! You referenced!"

_(I know, it's called payback.)_

"For what? Making a reference when you couldn't?" I retook the step that I used jumping back, turning around and lifting the rods onto my harness, clicking them into place to ensure that they didn't come loose.

_(What's so bad about making a reference anyway? They're harmless aren't they?)_

"We could get sued for copyright if it's too strong, that's the harmful part." I started to pull on the plow, feeling the harness push harshly into my neck. "Ghak! Nnngh! Come on~ move~!" I put as much power into my legs as I could, slowly moving forward with the plow fulfilling its job.

_(...Why're you talking about copyright? There's no-one to issue the charges. Not only that, but there're no charges to be issued in the first place.)_

"People have a strange way of getting things done. Just look at us, we get around to places without noticing because we're busy talking, hardly a normal course of action if you ask me." My movements were still stalled and slowed, the plow really weighing me down as I pulled it.

_(Fair point, though I hardly see what we could be sued for.)_

"Nngh... Me neither, but you can never be too careful." I steadily began to find a comfortable pace at which I could drag the heavy tool behind me by working myself into a rhythm, keeping the motion of my legs steady whilst I pressed forward.

_(...So... you're just gonna be doing this for a while?)_

"Yeah, could take a while..." My voice left me strained and weak, myself moving very slowly across the field. Y'know, I think I'm beginning to understand how Big Mac got so big... He has to do this for hours on end God knows how many times a year! Not to mention he bucks trees and does whatever the hell else everyday! ...Ohh... I'm gonna be so sore after this...

* * *

The next couple of hours are boring as hell, trust me on that one. All I did was continue to trudge through the dirt and plow the field, my legs and back getting increasingly tired until I lost most feeling in them about an hour in. After taking a rest, I went back to working. But what really didn't help was Ly cracking jokes every now and then and just talking in general, not really what you want when you're over-exerting yourself with physical labour. Anyway, this next part I _really_ didn't expect... nor did ever I want to happen... Well, I suppose I'd just tell you what happened, seeing as you'd probably take enjoyment in the next piece of my life. So, enjoy...

* * *

"Thank God that's over!" I unstrapped the plow from my harness, setting myself down onto the ground as my limbs began pulsing with pain. "I really don't want to touch that thing again, yet alone pull on it for hours more..."

_(Well at least it's all over... now just to plant the seeds!) _His voice became bucking chirpy at the end of that, why does he go to such lengths to annoy me!?

"Just let me rest... I'll get on with it as soon as my legs stop hurting..."

_(Why didn't you just say so? I'll fix that.)_

Suddenly, all of the pain from my back and legs just faded away, leaving me feeling unbelievably refreshed. "W-whoa! It's all gone!" I jump up onto all fours, looking down at my legs in disbelief, "All of the pain's gone! Haha! I feel amazing! Let's get those seeds an' plant 'em!" I dash off to the barn feeling a renewed energy inside of me, though my legs felt slightly wobbly and out of control. "Ly, I don't know what you did, but I freaking love it!"

_(Dear... God...)_

"...Are you okay?"

_(Not too much, no... My limbs feel like they're gonna fall off...)_

"H-how? You were just fine a moment ago." I slowed my run as I drew near the barn, starting to show some compassion towards my suddenly ailed friend.

_(I kinda switched some of our senses, mainly our sense of pain... so now I'm feeling what you were... it fucking hurts...)_

"O-oh... I would offer to take it back, but I don't really want to. At least not until I've finished up today." I opened up the door and walked into the barn, looking about the shelves for some seeds.

_(No, don't worry about it... I'm gonna lie down for a while, just wake me up if you need me...)_

Catching sight of a few packets, I move over to them eagerly, now actually enjoying the demanding physical labour set to me. "Okay, I'll leave you be for the moment though. A bit of rest'll probably bring you back a bit."

Taking the packets into my possession, I nod to myself and begin to turn. But I stop instantly, the sound of the barn door closing behind me instilling a bad, bad vibe to travel down my spine. Gulping and trying to keep my shaking hooves under control, I turn to the door, seeing a figure of a pony lurking at the closed-off entrance. With a blinding flash, the light from atop the barn's ceiling illuminated the room, revealing the figure at the door. The voice of whom sent me into a very defensive mode. She lifted her hat, giving me those same lustrous eyes.

"Howdy, Corpus. Wanna go fer Round 2?"

* * *

**Well, that's all for this chapter! I was originally gonna make this about 16,000 - 20,000 words long but, 9.7 is good enough XD**

**Anyway, review on the Good, the Bad and the Myeh!**

**I wish you all the best for the new year! ^_^**

**Bye bi!**


	25. Chapter 25: The 12th Noon: Promises

**Authors Note:**

**Sorry for the extremely long wait in between this chapter and the last. I'd been having trouble writing recently, mainly due to my family wearing my nerves very, very thin as of late. 'Tis very hard to present decent (At the very least) work when you're wanting to give the wall a 'Swiss Cheese' kind of look... with your fists... But that's in the past, so there's no point in holding onto it ^_^**

**Well, not much else to say other than enjoy the plot! I mean both kinds, of course... :3**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**01:41 P.M. **S.A.A, Barn..._

"Wanna go fer Round 2?"

I gulped. My heartbeat was gradually beginning to quicken as I stared even longer at the mare mere metres from me, cold anticipation filling my every breath. The very event that I had been wanting and trying to avoid all day was but moments away from becoming fulfilled, making a stone cold sweat break out on my neck. But despite that, there was a warm sensation coming from my view too, as if part of me was beginning to want this to happen.

She took a couple of steps closer, keeping me locked firmly in her sights. "Well, Sugah? Up ta poundin' me again?" Her upper eyelids lowered, making her stare all the more alluring.

I take a couple of steps back, keeping the distance between us as it were. "N-no, I'm fine. Really. I need to get on with work anyway." _Lyyy...? Wake up please..._

"Aw, come on..." She drew ever closer, a certain flare about her poise making my face begin to hit a light shade of red. "Don'chu want ta indulge yerself in tha pleasure ya had last night?"

"No, I've already said I don't want to..."

_Come on Ly! Don't hold out on me now! I need your help!_

I backed away further, but at the same time I wanted to move towards her, a primitive feeling in my head driving me to confront the offering she's giving me.

She's slowly getting closer, and my legs are starting to become unresponsive. Bit by bit insanity's starting to whir at my mind, confusing me as to what to do. "Jes' a lil' bit won't hurt ya, Ah'm sure y'all find it fun. Jes' stop movin' back..."

_Ahhh, I'm really scared now! I don't want to do anything, I just want to keep out of thi- What...? _

A small collision with my rump ceased all thought's I had. Turning my head around, I notice a very, _very_ bad thing. "T-there's a... a... bloody wall here!? Crap, crap, crap!" I look to my predator again, seeing her getting within mere yards of my perimeter, licking her lips as she did so.

"Don' worry, ya won' hafta be kissin' anyone but me this time..." She's so much closer now, I'm near enough within her hoof's reach.

"T-that's not what I'm worried about!"

_Craaap! There's nothing I can do! There's a fucking wall behind me and she keeps getting closer! _

With her lustrous smile, she took another step towards me.

_Ahh! Idon'twannaberaped Idon'twannaberaped Idon'twannaberaped!_

I bring the bags of seeds in front of me as a form of weak shield. Once the packets were laid out in my line of sight, they spawned a spontaneous idea in my head.

_Wait, magic! I can still stop her and escape!_

I correct my pose, standing with confidence within me. "Applejack, please stop now. I'm not interested in doing anything of the sorts with you."

"Ah'm awf'ly sorry, but Ah'm afraid Ah can't do that. Besides, what're you gunna do if Ah don' stop?" Smiling, she approaches further, challenging my warning.

"Hehe... This!" I muster all the power I can and enshroud my pursuer, keeping her locked in an orange, skin-tight prison. "I'm sorry to have had to do that, but now I'l- What!?" My posture breaks down in disbelief. The mare I had just contained is still moving, without the smallest of hindrances. "Y-you're..." Still walking? "H-how're-..." You not stuck!? I put all my power into that bind! I- "I don't understa-" I stop as I feel a wave of weakness flush over me, followed by a few light tufts as the seed bags next to me fell to the ground. I look at them in despair, realizing what had happened. Looking back at Applejack, my thoughts are only confirmed further...** I'm out of magic**. "L-listen Applejack, stay back. Please don't come any further!"

She chuckled, standing just in front of my muzzle just seconds after I attempted to drive her off... I think I can safely say she feels victorious...

"Ah don't know if y'all were makin' a bluff or what, but," She shot at me, lifting my arms up and pinning me and my fore-legs against the barn wall behind me, "Now ya all mine..."

_N-no..._

She forced her lips onto mine, pulling me into an unwanted trance of lust.

_No..._

She detached her soft lips from my own, whispering into my ear in a similar fashion to last night, "We've got ta hurry, Big Mac could be home sometime soon. So we'd better get on with this quickly."

_No._

"Ah promise Ah'll be good. Jes'... surrender... yerself..." She lowered her hoof down my stomach as she breathed into my neck, creating a tingly feeling in my waist.

"NO!" I push my arms against her hold and transfer the momentum into a shove, knocking her onto her back with a considerably loud impact. I pant heavily as she glares up at me, surprise splashed across her face. "I will NOT submit to you again!" I lower onto all fours again, placing a sincere and pleading expression onto myself. "This isn't you Applejack, the pony who helped me when I was down wasn't like this! Please snap out of this! Please go back to how you were! Go back to being my friend!"

I'm not completely sure how, but what I just said had quite the impact on her. Her look of surprise became replaced with a smile, one that made me feel at ease. She rolled onto her front, standing up and turning around to look at me. "Ah'm sorry Corpus. Truly, Ah am." She still wore that smile, inclining one of my own to come about, "But Ah am tha Applejack ya know, yer friend."

My smile instantly vanished as she stepped closer again, desperation and anger beginning to surface in its place. "Stop! Don't you realize that you're hurting me!? I don't mean physically, but what you're doing is mentally scarring! You're submitting me to rape! That's not what friends do, no matter how close they are!" I shot her one more glare, the last of my hope riding on this._  
_

She sighed, lowering her face to aim at the floor as she took another step forward, bringing her eyes to meet mine as she looked back up. "Please, Corpus, don' make me do this."

"Do what? Force me to bend to you again? I said, I'm not going to engage in that anymore!"

"...Let me tell y'all something, something secret." Despite the majority of her demeanor changing, she still approached me with the same longing in her eyes. She got within a close proximity of me again, placing her hooves on my shoulders as she brought herself in close, pushing me back up against the wall as she held my arms down in an embrace. She brushed her head along the side of mine, her mouth arriving at my static ear. "Heat is a really painful time," A comfortable shiver traveled up my spine and groin as she pushed herself closer, rubbing her slit along the erection I'd been trying to hide for a while. "A mare can't control herself when she's in heat, her 'space' starts ta get really hot an' she gets real horny, and it starts makin' her need ta relieve herself of that heat. But tha feelin' won' go away, no matter how much she tries ta get rid of it." She's started to pick up a distorted rhythm with her hips, fractured only by her occasional spasm. "But, when she starts ta feel good enough, tha heat starts ta numb itself away. But even that doesn' last too long. It's hell. It's absolute hell havin' ta go through this. So please help me through it. Ah know ya don' like tha idea of it, and y'all probably wanna avoid me becus' of it, but please," she retracted her face from mine, allowing me to see her eyes again. And I was shocked. They had, returned to them, some of their former Emerald luster, letting me know that somewhere deep down, the usual Applejack was also talking to me, "Promise me that y'all help me through this heat, as mah friend."

I opened my mouth to respond, only no words came out. They got caught in my throat and were soon forgotten. My brain's wracking itself over this, it's hard to think, what the hell do I say? Do I say what I want to? But..._ There's just no way... it's impossible for me to say no... Looking at her like this, really makes her vulnerable side stick out brightly. I just... can't decline her when she wants my help this much... I just don't have it in me..._

I look into her eyes once more, searching for any signs of incoherence on her half. Only to find none. I sigh, looking to my side as my friend keeps me to the wall whilst pleasuring herself. "I-... I promise. I'll help you however I can." I quickly look back to her, sending a sharp look to her, "But we're only doing it once a day, I still need to get work done! And we're only doing this as friends! We're nothing above that, alright?"

Her eyes glistened with what I thought were going to be tears. But I didn't get a chance to see what was to come from them, AJ had closed them and landed another kiss on me before I could stare for much longer. Feeling myself start to relax slightly, I melted into the kiss with her, also loosening my guard about my penis. Without warning, Applejack broke the kiss and grinned at me, scanning me with those sex-driven eyes again.

"Thank you, Corpus. Ah really appreciate yer help in this. So," She dropped her hooves from behind my back and fell onto all of her legs again, taking a couple of steps back and turning around to give me a full view of her from behind. "How about y'all come an' show me how much yer gonna help?" She began to slowly wiggle her flank back and forth in an aggravating manner, lifting her tail up and revealing her closed, moist slit to me as well.

I, too, fall into my natural standing position, a strong, fresh heat flooding my face from the sight. _C-c'mon Corpus, just... go with it. All you have to do is, stick it in... Nothing... else..._

"What're ya waitin' for? Ah'm not gonna be able to hold it back this much forever y'know?" With her voice growing slightly irritated, my 'client' lowered her upper body a stead, making her dripping honey-pot all the more prominent.

In response to this, my dick started throbbing with excitement, grating my mind against the edge of sexual insanity. "G-gotcha." Would you look at that. I'm so nervous and conflicted that I'm stuttering...

Trying to keep my mind clear and unhindered, I came to Applejack's rear, just about catching a scent emanating from her opening. It... kinda smelt sweet, but, also invigorating. It was making my head and heart race too, temptation and want filling me up as my sex-drive began to take over. Bracing myself for the onslaught of pleasure to come, I raise myself onto my hind-legs and place my hooves on either side of my partner's waist, bringing my hard, eager member to her vagina. I press against the folds lightly, bringing my mental state into a kind high, whilst also getting a sharp intake of breath from Applejack. Without time for thought or doubt, I plunge myself into her depths, reaching all the way into her until my loin collided with her firm ass, my entire length from the tip to base now completely submerged into her pussy.

We both let out a sigh of pleasure as pent up anticipation left us both. Following up from my movement, I pull my hips back and thrust again, pleasure ripping its way down my shaft as AJ's walls tug on it, forcing another breath from me. Screwing again into her tightness, I could feel a small amount of pressure already manifesting itself in my dick. It's hardly been a few moments since I penetrated her and I'm already getting pretty close...

"M-mmn... Corpus, r-ram me harder! R-rut me as hard as you can!" Her words came out as shouts, the air from her lungs leaving her too quickly for any speech to sound anything but strained.

Answering to her plea, I started bringing my hips back into her with greater force, our bodies hitting together and producing 'slapping' sounds, all of which were muffled by our fur. Her body also flinched forward with every rut, a grunt of air forcing its way out of her with each rock. In addition to my increased 'bucking' power, the pleasure I reaped from this experience only seemed to grow. A greater shock of bliss tore through my penis from the near unbearably good friction grinding between it and AJ's tight vagina, her rough, wet walls rubbing fiercely against it as pressure was beginning to form in my waist again.

I started to tense my fore-legs slightly, the urge to release growing stronger with each thrust I attack her with. The build-up of ecstasy is getting too much to handle and my thoughts are becoming interrupted with the want of coming, but I can't let myself go, especially whilst inside of her.

_I mean, this isn't for my pleasure anyway! I'm doing this for AJ, nothi-nng-...else... I... I can't just yet, anyway..._

Continuing my led assault, it became clearer and clearer that I really wouldn't be able to hold on for long, my dick feeling like semen was going to explode out of it any moment.

_I- I'm sorry, AJ._

Without sparing a single moment, I quickly pull out of her, hitting an orgasm as I freed myself, "Nnn-haa!...Haa..." Bathing in a mixture of relief and elation, my ejaculate shot out over the barn floor beneath her. I slumped my head against my chest, panting rather heavily as I began to recover.

""H-hey, Corpus! Stick it back in! Ah'm not done yet!"

"S-sorry..." Moving quickly to appease her, I bring my pulsing member back to her entrance and stab into her again. I release a sigh as a toned down pleasure attacked me, my dick still not fully recuperated from my orgasm.

I start to move my hips into the same pumping motion that I had just been working in, soon rocking AJ's body back and forth again as we continued. Louder and fuller moans began to slither from her mouth, her head being thrown down to her legs as I satisfied her pussy's lust. And slowly, my penis began to have feeling returned to it. Along with the return of sensations in it, a miniature storm of sweetness engulfed it, adding more feeling into the heavy breaths I was already drawing. All of a sudden I could feel something distracting me from what I was doing. A strange, vibrating feeling. Looking down, I could see AJ's hind legs starting to shake a tad, as if they were soon to give way. Suddenly, her upper body fell to the floor as her fore-legs collapsed beneath her. Though I was initially concerned, I became more than relieved when she started to expel a long drone of a moan, its pitch heightening every time I slammed back into her. I let out a small chuckle at the sight, the strong Applejack laying on the floor near breathless as I was ramming into her. Before I could continue with the thought, my mind was swiftly pulled away by the abundance of bliss flooding into my groin from my penis. I'm near my mental limit, it won't take too much more before I give full consent like last night...

"K-keep goin'... A-Ah'm almost there!" She kept herself low to the ground as she spoke, but her voice was brimming with anticipation and joy.

Hearing such a voice come from her made me lose my mind. If the pleasure that was beginning to take over wouldn't be enough to secure a hold on me, her cutely pitched voice would be the match-maker.

I no longer wanted to keep with this to satisfy her needs, instead I only had my own pleasure at mind. And thus abiding by my new incentive, I pulled her hind quarters into me and began to thrust with more speed, almost lifting her hooves off the ground in the process. I thought she was about to protest to me suddenly becoming more forceful, but what I assumed was to start out as a quick complaint suddenly exploded into a groan of ecstasy that filled the barn. At that same moment, I flinched from a cold mixture of pain and pleasure as her walls contracted and tightened around me, sending me wave after wave of desirable appreciation for my contribution. But then my member flicked out of her, for once her orgasm had died down, she fell into a small slump, breathing heavily as she rested on her hooves, her flank still sustained in the air somewhat. I was left standing on my hind-legs, still recovering a bit after that surprise assault, but not for long, I've worked up far too much of a thirst to stop now.

I descend onto my fore-legs and bring one to AJ's rear, placing my hoof on its side and pushing into it, knocking her onto her back as she gave to me an expression formed of shock... but then of lust.

"Heh... Didn' know ya had it in ya..." She slowly moved her legs apart, revealing her slit which had been beautifully glazed with her juices, "Come an' give me more..." She lightly licked her lips, compelling me to move in closer.

Whether she made that action consciously or not, I don't know. And frankly, I don't care. All I know is that I'm more than eager to continue, despite how wrong I know this is.

Giving a warm chuckle, I place my hooves either side of her shoulders, lowering my face to her's as a similar look shot from myself to her. One painted with pure lust. I brought my pole to her 'field' once more and crashed into her, scoring a trove of pleasure in a mighty turbulent as I forcefully sank in. She elicited another moan as I delved in to my base, accompanied by an expression of my own joy. I wasted not a single second in bringing us both into our desired moment, pulling myself back and pushing deep into her again, her tight, slippery insides flawlessly servicing me well.

I started to increase the speed and power of my waist's movements as my desire grew stronger, jolting her warm body with each collision we encountered. We looked into the other's eyes, sacrificing a kind stare to each other before I moved in and gave her a light peck on the lips, my incessantly heavy breathing keeping me from holding it for anything longer. Following from my influenced affection, AJ wrapped her hooves around my neck and pulled me close, placing her muzzle against the base of my neck as she released a series of warm breaths into it, the odd groan accenting them.

Deterring my mind from her recent course of action, I started to puff out the occasional sigh as the same anxious pressure began to swell in my member. I assume AJ's feeling a similar way too. Her breathing's becoming a little more erratic and she arching her back inwards a bit, her lower body also making a few preemptive twitches. About to ready myself for another trip to heaven, I close my eyes and focus on the sensation swirling around my dick. The intense pleasure ready to explode out of me at any time.

* * *

_**17 minutes prior,** S.A.A, Path..._

It's coming close to roughly quarter to three. Well, as one would be able to tell from the sun's positioning, anyway. And along a small dirt path leading straight from the currently desolate area of Ponyville to the farmland known as Sweet Apple Acres, Big Macintosh tugged an empty cart behind him, his eyes seeming wearier than on most occasions. Venting out a sigh, he lowered his head and shook it. After allowing it to hang for a few seconds, he brings it back up and gazes toward his beloved farm, a faint smile almost surfacing on his seemingly fatigue-ridden face. Suddenly he looks up into the balcony of a tree, following a tiny, high-pitched chirping coming from a little chick. As he watched the chick, one of its parents flew into the nest and stood over it, promptly settling itself down and covering most of its offspring's body. At the sight of the two birds living happily together as a family, an uncontrollable smile formed on Big Mac's mouth. Keeping an eye on the two but a moment longer, he chuckled to himself and continued on his way to the farm, feeling like some form of burden had been lifted.

The rest of his return was spent in silence, not many thoughts running through his mind other than those of work orientation. Once he had set hoof firmly into the family's property, he unattached the cart from his harness and looked around. A confused expression dawned on his face as he saw neither head nor tail of Corpus, although... the field had been fully plowed. Thinking it possible that he had been given another job, the large stallion moved to the other side of the barn and took another look around, only to receive the same report: Nothing. Now really wondering as to where he could've gone, Big Mac made his way around to the front of the barn to fetch the cart, planning on bringing it back in before searching for the new worker.

"Big brother! Yer home!" A cute, young voice called out from afar, stemming from within one of the trees.

The red pony turned his head to the source of the noise, catching sight of Applebloom looking excitedly from the Cutie Mark Crusaders' club house window. But before he could give an answer, the door flew open and his younger sister came racing up to him. And once within reach, she launched a hug at him, with him placing his hoof on her head as a form of mild affection, "So," She stepped away from him, allowing herself to look up at him comfortably, "Did ya deliver the pies to Miss Cheerilee?"

"Eeyup." Deterring his attention from his sister momentarily, he took another glance about the farmyard.

The little filly began making little bounces of energy, eyes glistening with excitement. "Oh! Did ya see Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo when yer in town? Ah havn't seen them in forever!"

Still having his eyes scan the openness of the field, Big Mac retained from eye contact. "Nnope."

The filly's bounds came to cease as her energy filled state deflated, leaving her standing still. "Aww, Ah really wanna see them! Big Mac? Do ya know why Ah can't go inta Ponyville ta see mah friends?"

"Eeyup." He returned focus to his little sister, still finding no clue as to Corpus' whereabouts.

"Do ya think y'all could tell me?" She tilted her head slightly, portraying her curiosity.

"Nnope."

"Ah not you too Big Mac! Granny Smith says Ah'm not allowed ta know either! It's so unfair, why can't Ah jes' see mah friends? We could even jes' stay in tha clubhouse if we're not allowed out." Letting out a few huffs of frustration, Applebloom's ears fell as she lowered her head and looked forth solemnly at the field, turning around slowly as she made her departure. "Ah guess Ah'll go an' see if Corpus wants ta play..."

"Wait," the stallion took a step or so closer to Applebloom, catching her as she, herself, turned about, "Ya know where Corpus is?"

"Hm? Ah thought he was out plowing tha fields like ya asked him too. Well, that's what Applejack said."

The work pony closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. "He ain't no more. He finished that up, but Ah don't know where he's got to."

Hearing evidence that her help my be needed, the filly's ears pricked up and she bounced in the air once more. "Oh! Ah could help ya find him! Who knows, maybe Ah'll get a 'Search Pony' cutie mark! Can Ah big brother? Can Ah, can Ah, can Ah!?" She stood eagerly, an enormous grin uploading itself in place of her earlier frown.

"...Eeyup."

"Yay!" With a single word, Big Mac was able to make his sister explode with excitement, as demonstrated by Applebloom rocketing into the air with several bounces before coming to the eventual stop. But even with this cease of motion, her excitement is easily displayed through her speech and poise. "Alright, Ah'll go lookin' around tha house an' barn, you go an' look about tha fields!" She turned and ran off for the house with exponential speed. "Ah'm so gonna get mah cutie mark from this!"

Hearing his sister's final shout before her disappearance behind solid walls, Big Macintosh turned about and re-hooked himself to his cart. With a sigh of exhaustion, he began tugging the cart over to the barn, ready to put it away for another day's use. Once faced with the barn's doors, a slight scent wafted from inside and to Big Mac's nose. Initially intrigued by this scent, he took another few sniffs to better acquaint himself with it, until, that is, the aroma caused a reaction within his brain. Realizing immediately the nature of scent, the stallion threw the door open with his hoof.

* * *

"Hm?" I look towards the barn door, seeing Big Mac standing at its entrance, hoof on door and a serious look on his face. "Oh, hi Big Mac." I give him a tired smile, fatigue clearly riding over my face.

"Howdy, Ah take it yer delivery went well?" Applejack turned her head to the door too, talking casually to her brother.

"...Eeyup." He had a strange look on his face, almost as if he were searching for something.

"Glad ta hear it." AJ bent her neck down and grabbed the several packets of seeds with her mouth, lifting her head back up and presenting them to me. "Shall mwee ghet pwantin'?"

I expelled a small chuckle at her muffled voice, nodding my head in confirmation. To which the mare turned about and started towards the door, me following in suit.

"So, you two're jes' gettin' some seeds?" AJ's big brother gave us a dubious stare, as if he were expecting to see something else.

"Well, I was going to plant the seeds myself after plowing the fields, but," I stopped walking and held up my right fore-leg, my hoof dangling down weakly, "My limbs are too tired for me to get anything done efficiently. So Applejack was just helping me retrieve them, and she'll help me plant them too."

"..." Staying silent, Big Mac contemplated over what I had said for a moment before nodding his head. "Okay, Ah guess." He moved to one side, allowing AJ to walk past him and through the door.

After I had begun walking again, I soon reached the door and passed through it, reaching the outside of the barn for what seemed like forever ago.

"Hey, Corpus."

But before I could take even two steps away from the barn, Big Mac called my name out, making me break into a cold sweat.

_Ah crap, please don't tell me he found out!_

"Yes?" I turn my head seemingly calmly, hiding the sea of fear that was crashing at the front of my brain.

"Ah don't have any more jobs fer ya to do today, so Ah'd jes' ask Applejack fer any more work ta get done."

_Oh thank goodness!_

My heart skipped a beat, I was almost definite that he had caught on for a moment there. "Will do!" I give him a confident nod before walking after Applejack, my face becoming painfully distorted as soon as it was outside of his view.

Watching me trot on after his sister, Big Mac let out a small sigh, head drooping low as he brought it round to his front. "Strange, Ah coulda sworn Ah could smell somethin'..." Staring into the near empty barn for a moment longer, he entered with his cart. "Ah guess Ah was jes' imaginin' things..."

* * *

"That was too freaking close..." I release a hybrid of a sigh and a weep as a single tear enlightens my eye.

"Ter me abowie..." I look to my side, seeing AJ's face lit up a bright red as she spoke with a mouthful of seeds.

"Heh, I can't understand you with those seeds in your mouth." Cracking a small smile at her, a tiny portion of my anxiety left me.

Glancing at her mouth, the mare held her hoof under the seed packets and dropped them, lifting her hat with her other hoof, and placing the packets atop of her head, releasing her hat afterwards to keep them in place. "Ah said tell me about it. Ah was sure we'd get caught..."

I watched her, analyzing her closely before speaking again. "So, are you the normal Applejack or...?"

She turned her head to me slipping a beam in at me. "Yeah, Ah am tha normal me." Her blush lightly intensified as she moved her eyes back to the field we were walking to. "Listen, Ah'm really sorry fer what Ah'm puttin' yer through, Ah shouldn't be askin' such bad things of ya. Especially since yer've got somepony else in mind..."

_Somepony else? I... don't think I have anyone in mind... Oh well..._

"Don't worry about it... that much." I, too, looked forth to our destination. "I did give consent this time, after all."

"After Ah guilted yer inta it. Look," She glanced at me through her sockets, lowering her head a bit as she spoke, "If ya don't want ta do this anymore, jes' stop me from doin' anythin' to ya in tha future. Ah'm not really wantin' ta do this sorta stuff either."

"Hey, I made a promise to you, remember?"

She lifted her head and gave her full attention to me, expressing a look of curiosity mixed with low-level shock.

"You may not mean to do anything at all when you're in that state, but I owe you a pretty big favour for before."

"Before...?" She raised her eyebrow in confusion, not too sure what I was talking about.

"Yeah, a few days ago in that field just south of Ponyville. When I was all depressed about-" I stopped myself from speaking, realizing that it was probably best to keep Applejack in the dark about the whole Death Note thing, "Well, when I thought I couldn't be any lower than what I was." I gave her a warm smile, feeling a feeling of a similar warmness filling my chest.

"Oh, Ah remember now!" She returned the smile with genuine enthusiasm, "But don't feel like ya owe me, Ah was jes' doin' what was needed."

I look back to my neutral direction, the smile retaining on my face as I stared off into the sky a bit. "Say, Applejack. Do you remember what you said to me that day?"

She blinked twice in quick succession. "Huh? What Ah said?" After bumping her hoof against her chin a few times, she lowered it and raised an eyebrow, "That you shouldn' let things get ya down?"

I chuckled, turning my head at a slight angle and looking at her through the corners of my eyes, "You said that you and the others accepted me for who I was, befriending both the good and bad parts of me." I turn my head to give her my full attention, whole-hearted happiness leaking from my being, "If it weren't for that, I may not have recovered from my depression. And one thing friends do is return favours, so consider my promise returned kindness instead of a debt."

"So..." Reaching the plowed field, we stop walking and AJ unloads the seeds from under her hat, holding the packets out to me with her hoof, "Ya don't mind- er... 'obligin'' fer the remainder of mah heat...?"

"Just as much as I consider you a friend worth going out of my way for." I take a couple of packets with my mouth, dropping one and pincering the other between my hooves as I tear at its top with my teeth.

"Heh..." She brought the rest of the seed packets to her and placed them next to a couple of small, open boxes, "Guess Ah'm tha one who owes you one now." She tore open the top of one of the packets, pouring the seeds into one of the boxes and repeating the process with another packet.

Successfully ripping open a packet, I carefully pour the seeds into another box. "Didn't you say that we needn't owe each other if we're only doing what's needed?" I painfully bent over to pick the dropped packet with my teeth, only just getting a hold on it.

"Well, Ah suppose Ah did." Looking over at me, she sees my pathetic attempt of regaining possession of the seeds. "Corpus, wouldn' it jes' be easier to grab 'em with yer magic?"

"Hm? Oh," I laughed nervously, holding the packet with my teeth. "I acxidentally yooshed it all up earlier." Having only a single packet in my mouth, my speech was much clearer than what AJ's was earlier.

Letting loose a slither of laughter, my companion emptied her last packet into a box. "Then Ah won' ask how ya managed it." After placing the empty packet onto a small pile next to her, she just watched me empty out the last of the packs. "...Are ya absolutely sure Ah'm causin' you no trouble?"

I look up from the box, a blank stare on my face from the sudden, but kinda expected, question. "Well of course it's trouble, but a promise is a promise, and I intend to keep it." Still feeling a little numbing soreness in my legs, I set myself back onto my haunches and look over the field, recalling how much bloody effort went into getting it all done.

Following my lead, Applejack sat down as well, a happy grin painted on her face.

It was silent between us for a few moments, both of us gazing over the same plot of land. Eventually, AJ let out a sigh, speaking shortly afterwards. "Y'know, it's kinda nice, havin' a chat between us..."

"Yeah, I suppose this is the first time we've actually had some form of conversation. What with the sudden attack and me trying to avoid you all day kinda thing going on." I slid a sly grin at her, letting her know I was just making banter.

She giggled, thankfully seeing the funny side of what I said.

"Actually, you have a promise to hold out too."

"Hm? Ah do?" Once again a blank slate formed on her face. I wonder how much she actually listens to herself?

"Yeah, you promised that we'd only do 'that' once a day, remember?" Inclining my head, I give her a rather patronizing grin, being sure to remind her that she should keep this stuff at mind.

"Oh, right. _That_ promise! Yeah, Ah remember, ya lil' snake!" Poking me in the fore-leg with her hoof, she returned a playful glare.

"So you won't be getting into a weird mood anytime soon, then?" I rub my fore-leg, her poke kinda stinging it a little.

"Nah, Ah should be fine fer a good few hours. Ya won't be gettin' bothered by me fer the rest of the day."

"That's good to hear," I return my gaze to the fine work I made before me, Applejack doing the same herself.

"Y'know, we should probably get to planting those seeds soon. We've been talking a while now."

"Hehe, yeah. But still, it's nice ta have somepony ta talk to. It gets pretty lonely up here when ya can't go inta town ta talk to yer friends. Not ta mention that High Alert's got us runnin' about tryin' ta keep enough money ta hold us out."

"Wait," My head sifted to its side, a shocked demeanor dawning on my face, "You guys don't have much money? Even though you have so many crops that get sold?"

"Not really, no. Ah mean, the crops earn their cost in pay, but other things such as maintainin' a few dozen of acres of Apple trees, feedin' 4 ponies an' a bunch of animals, an' buyin' tools or gettin' 'em repaired takes a few bits outta our wallets. But someday we'll be rich enough to not hafta worry about that kinda stuff!" Her modest smile evolved into a hopeful beam, her eyes glistening as the sun's rays delicately bounced off them, making the emerald pools shimmer with unnatural beauty, "We could get a bigger barn, more land, more animals, an' even better enclosures fer the lil' fellas! We jes' need one lucky break. One turn of tha tides in our direction, an' we may never hafta worry about money fer generations..."

I looked at her in amazement, my mind completely enthralled by the stunning sight presented to me. Her emerald green eyes reflected light in an awe-inspiring manner, little white flickers appearing along the circumference of the beautiful irises they danced on; her close to golden mane bursting with a shining luster from the mid-day sun's light, making it take on a slightly more 'sun-set' glow, due to the star's placement in the early Autumn afternoon; and her clean, orange coat, flowing ever so gently and gracefully in the breeze, with her mane accompanying its to and fro movements; all set with the backdrop of a freshly plowed field and the blue, serene sky coming just off of the tops of the acres upon acres of apple trees, their red fruits accenting the extravagance of the scenery to its fullest.

_Wow... just-... wow... I've... never really looked at her like this before. She's really cute, and beautiful... _

I feel a warm sensation spreading in my face, but not like earlier. This one felt... nicer...

_And she's kind, caring and doesn't put herself first. Even now, as she's talking about problems, she puts those of her family first, being dead-set on wanting to solve them herself. And even with me. She knows that she wants her heat to be dealt with so she doesn't suffer, but she's still putting what I want first and foremost, despite her own problem being much more important and sensitive..._

"...Say, Corpus?"

I suddenly jolt in my skin, thinking she had noticed my prolonged stare at her. "Y-yeah?"

"Ah know this'll probably sound a lil' weird, and that Ah should know that you'll probably say yes anyway, but, could we make sure that 'season' won't interfere with our friendship? Ah don't want anythin' big appearin' spontaneously becus' Ah've been in a... feisty mood."

Oh, is that all she's asking? "Sure, I wouldn't want anything happening because of a hormonal imbalance either."

"So," She turned her head to face me, "Do ya promise on that?" She held out her hoof, but not like before, this time her fore-leg wasn't fully outstretched. I don't think I'm to shake it.

A grin pulled its way onto my lips of its own accord, my head dipping itself into a sub-conscious nod as well, "I promise." I moved my hoof out in a similar fashion, colliding it with her's as she pushed it out further to me.

Again, I still can't believe this beauty before my eyes...

* * *

**Once again I am compelled to split a chapter into two, just because I found the perfect end for this one ^_^**

**And in all honesty, this one was going to take a completely different route, but going over it and re-reading parts of it, it became blatantly clear that MAJOR changes needed to be made XD**

**Anyway, I shall Pinkie Promise that the next one'll be out within the week! So don't wait too long! ;D**

**Review on the good, the bad, and the myeh!**

**Until next time,**

**Bye bi!**


	26. Chapter 26: The 12th Evening: Gather

**Author's Note:**

**Huzzah! I hath... missed... the deadline... oh... ... ...Bullocks...**

**Anyway, on a different note, I tried to make parts of this chapter seem fast-paced and urgent, to make it sit in better with the story's  
atmosphere. But... It feels really cruddy as well... :/ Tell me what you think of it as a review, 'cus it's really buggin' me how I can't keep  
it fast-paced ****without removing some of the quality...**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**02:03 P.M. **S.A.A, Crop field #4..._

We continued to sit here, looking over the field as the minutes passed by, what felt to me, like hours. But I'm not complaining, not with the sort of scene I was presented with. I doubt there are many ponies who'd make a fuss about seeing something as beautiful as this...

Taking a deep breath through my nostrils, I sit up straight and stretch my back, exhaling the air in a timid yawn as I lower back down into my comfortable sitting position.

"...Alright," Speaking in a somewhat strained voice, AJ stood up and pushed her hat back to its neutral position atop its golden mount, looking the field over as she held the accessory in place, "Guess we better start workin'. It'll take a while ta seed these fields, an' Ah don' think these seeds'll be enough ta cover tha whole job." She looked down at the four small boxes filled with seeds.

"Haa... I guess so." I stand up, flinching and wincing in pain as I apply pressure to my legs.

"Hm? Are ya okay, Corpus?" Noticing my anguished stance, my friend walked over to me.

"Y-yeah, just a little sore..." Taking a sharp intake of air, I stand boldly, trying my best to ignore the pain that was slowly seeping back into me. "See? I'm fine." Though it took a fair bit to stand, most of my effort was put into making a face that didn't seem pained.

"Are ya sure?" She took another step closer and bumped my leg with her hoof, making me grimace from the shock. "Hm, Ah don' believe y'all are alright. Y'all can jes' rest some more if ya want, Ah can get along with plantin' tha seeds mahself."

"N-no, it's fine. I can work too..." Taking a couple of steps to the boxes, I keep a fake smile on my face, "I'm sure this pain'll go away as quickly as it showed up."

"Nah ah. No way, no how are ya workin' like that. 'Sides, how _did _they start hurtin'? You seemed fine a minute ago..." A single brow levitated up her forehead in accordance to her question.

_I can think of a reason why..._

"I'm not too sure, guess fatigue finally caught up to them." A nervous chuckle falters from my mouth, my legs starting to get a little weak.

"Were... they like this when we were, er... well, in tha barn?" A sense of concern faded onto her appearance as her eyelids drew closer together.

"Well, I'm guessing that I used up quite a bit of energy there, but I'm sure most of it was from when I was plowing the fields. Guess I just didn't notice until just now! Haha..." A silly smile bore on my face..

_Or it was Ly's and I's senses switching back. Maybe I should try waking him up and asking him... Ly~! Lyyy~! ...Come on Ly, wake up!_

"If that's tha case then don' work, Ah'll get on with it. Don' want ya gettin' yerself injured when ya only on yer second day here." She turned away from me and made way for the seed containers, picking one up by its handle and making her way to the field. "Jesh relaxsh, Ah'll be dun befhore ya can shay 'Shweet Apple Acresh Shweet Apple Apple Shaushe." She's really gotta stop talking with things in her mouth...

Feeling guilty for unintentionally moving my job onto Applejack's shoulders, I let out a disappointed sigh and watch her with near dreary eyes.

_Come on, you've gotta be awake now Ly! You've done no work and the pain's coming back to me, so you shouldn't still be asleep!_

The silence in my head continued, telling me for certain that my lazy sub-conscious wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon.

_Fine, don't wake up. I can deal with this pain just fi-aaiiii!_

The pain increased, my limbs slowly growing heavy as the burn-y, pinch-y sensation in them continued to multiply upon itself.

"Ah! ...Ah! ...Ah! Yep! Legs getting heavy. Feeling like they're gonna fall off!" I closed my eyes and ground my jaws together, making the utmost effort to keep the pain somewhat at bay. But... as I did so, I suddenly felt an other-worldy tiredness dominate my body, and my head started getting lighter.

Looking over to me with the box in her mouth, AJ pulled her brow down to the top of her eyes, placing the box down as she focused her un-amused stare into me. "If y'all are achin' so bad, then sit. Don' stay on those legs if they're givin' ya so much grief."

"S-sorry, I'll just...sit... dooww..." I re-open my eyes to a hazy world, everything either fuzzy to the point where I could no longer recognise them, or partially wavy and distorted. Suddenly the feeling of gravity shifted. I could feel nothing pulling me down any longer and, instead, it felt as if I were to be shooting upwards, the weightlessness given to me by my mind bucking around with my senses. And as if I had somehow known that this moment would come about, Applejack began running towards me...or away from me... ...I don't know... my sense of depth is gone... ...the world is spinning...sideways...

* * *

**_?:? ?.?. _**_?, ?..._

...Quiet... It's... quiet...

... ... ...And dark...

...Oh... my eyes are closed...?

Maybe I should open them...?

... ...It's still quiet... and dark...

...This... is a dream...?

I'm tired... ... losing... consciousness... ...

...

* * *

**_02:04 P.M. _**_S.A.A, Crop Field #4..._

"Oh no... oh no, oh no!" Applejack pulled her ear from Corpus's agape mouth, her irises shrinking from fear as she stared hopelessly at the Alicorn's lifeless body. Mere instances ago had she applied her ear to his mouth, checking for the breaths that left his body after receiving no response from her calls... only to find none. Glancing around quickly in desperation, Applejack saw no-one around to help, making the fear inside her grow exponentially. "P-please..." Fixating herself back onto the stallion at her hooves, she brought the side of her head to his chest, "Please be alive!" She focused intensely, every fiber in her body being used to listen out for the faintest of signals of his life.

... ... ... ...

"...N-no..." Her legs started quivering and disbelief filled her being, his silent chest providing no comfort for her fears either. "Y-ya can't be dead! Y-...ya... can't be..." Droplets of anguish and despair began forming at the corners of her eyes; her own chest feeling achy as if it were inflating like a balloon.

... ...**-ba bump-**...

Hope glittered in the mare's heart, that single resounding noise giving flawless indication that Corpus was, even if only barely, alive.

"H-he's alive..." A single tear of relief shed from her eye and onto his chest, "He's alive!"

She raised herself back onto all fours and looked down at him, her earlier fear replaced by sudden joy. But... her smile quickly faded as reality sank its bitter fangs back into her mind, the condition regarding his respiration surfacing as quickly as her falsely brought happiness had.

"But he's still not breathin'... What do Ah do? What do Ah do!?"

She grasped her head and took a quick pace about the body, several strings of thought flooding her mind as she started to panic again, trying to think of the best procedure for an occurrence such as this.

"Arrgh!" Bringing herself to a halt in front of Corpus' head, she forced her hoof to her forehead, "All Ah can think of is CPR, but Ah don' know how ta do it!"

She took one more helpless glance at her struggling friend, seeing him only just staying with the living as he lay vulnerably on the ground. "...Ah don' have nuthin' ta lose. If Ah don' do anythin' then he'll die anyway!" Relieving her head of her hoof, she briskly trotted over to his hind-legs, standing herself over him as she stared down to his face. Using her right fore-hoof, she brought his mouth to face upwards, towards her.

"Here goes nuthin'!" Taking a large intake of air, she lowered her face to his and connected their mouths as she forced every last piece of breath from her lungs to his. She rose her head from his, taking a heavy breath and releasing it, following up by taking a third breath that matched the first in size and bringing her lips to his again. Corpus' chest inflated as she pumped air into his lungs, and it deflated as the air found its way out of his body. This mandatory, and near hopeless, string of actions swiftly brought itself into a cycle, with the mare placing her ear by the stallion's mouth after every second breath to see if his own breathing had returned. But of all of the five checks, not one of them had brought about the confirmation she was striving for.

"C-come on... please breathe!" With her own breathing being slightly out of sync with its usual pattern, she took another inward breath and delivered it to her fallen friend.

"O-oh! I-I'm sorry to disturb you!"

Choking on her breath as she breathed into Corpus, AJ looked up to see a cerulean Pegasus turning around and unfurling his wings.

"Wait! Ah need yer help!" She sub-consciously outstretched a hoof to him, a desperate cry for help from the primitive side of her mind.

"H-huh?" He turned around, his deep blue eyes blinking with confusion. "W-what do you mean you need 'help'? Aren't you-"

"He's not breathin'! An' his heart's beatin' really slowly!" AJ looked back at Corpus, the fear on her face growing even more evident. Even though he seemed calm and unhindered by pain, it was this very stillness of his body that made his unexplained condition all the scarier.

"What!?" Sharing the instant fear felt by the mare, the Pegasus rushed to Corpus' side also. "Corpus!" He placed a hoof on his face and shook it lightly, getting no response back, "Corpus come on, wake up!"

"Wait, ya know him?" She quickly brought the second stallion into her sight, not recalling having ever known of his existence.

The Pegasus looked up to her, "Yeah, we're just about friends..." Looking back down to Corpus, it became apparent that shaking his head wouldn't improve his condition. Stopping, his face became deathly serious as he looked back to Applejack, "Have you tried giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?"

"Uh," She blinked twice, a blank expression forming onto her face, "Mouth-ta-mouth what?"

The Pegasus sighed, his voice having a slight tone of impatience and urgency to it. "CPR, the Kiss of Life."

"O-oh, yeah, Ah have but, it wasn' havin' any effect." Her expression was slowly transforming from fearful to sorrowful, her gaze constantly wandering over to the dying stallion besides the stranger.

"Where you making sure the air wasn't escaping through his nose as you performed it?"

"Through his nose...?" Her face fell sullen very quickly, disappointment and the thought that she may be the reason for Corpus' death arising to her mind.

The second stallion looked towards Corpus silently, taking it upon himself soon after to stand above him. "I have to hurry," Turning his head to AJ, he motioned for her to take a couple of steps back, to which she complied. Turning back around, he used both hooves to turn Corpus' face towards his own and to hold his nose closed, taking a deep breath before lowering his face and breathing into the Alicorn's body.

With the new load of air entering his lungs, Corpus' chest rose higher than it had done with Applejack's attempts, with it lowering at a slightly slower pace once their mouths had disconnected too. The Pegasus continued to breathe air directly into Corpus as AJ silently started to examine him further, taking in the rest of his details. But... there was one thing about him that didn't quite fit. His Cutie Mark. Despite him knowing about all these medical procedures, it was a piano with musical notes flowing from the open lid.

_Huh? A Piana? That means he's some kinda musician, not a doctor._

Looking back to the pony's face, the mare sees a strong look of determination breaking through to his eyes.

_...There's definitely some questions Ah want answerin', but that can wait, we need ta get Corpus back first an' he's tha only pony here able ta do it..._

Taking his mouth away from Corpus' once more, the Pegasus places his ear to it and listens, immediately followed by him wiping his mouth and jumping up onto all fours. "Yes!" He turned about excitedly, looking at Applejack with a big smile. "He's breathing again!"

AJ felt a huge build-up of relief flood through her, making the weight of anxiety fade away as if it were nothing, a smile breaking onto her face too as her eyes began to moisten again. "So he's getting better?"

The blue pony's smile fell a little, with him turning his head back to Corpus as it did so. "I'm afraid not. He's heart's still beating very weakly, and even his breathing may not hold out long. But," His chest bounced with a small piece of restrained laughter, "It's still good to know he's alive..."

AJ took a step closer to the two, not sure whether she was feeling happy at her friend's 'revival', or whether she was concerned with his condition.

"Anyway," The Pegasus placed his hoofs under Corpus and lifted him up, flapping his wings and hovering in mid-air as he carried the Alicorn, "We need to get him somewhere safe and get a doctor in, I don't know how much time we have."

"Right," AJ nodded affirmatively, pointing over to the house in near plain sight, "Mah house is jes' over there, he's been stayin' with us so he has his own room. We can take him there and fetch somepony ta take a look at him."

"Okay, lead the way."

Following what the stallion said, Applejack started to make a semi-effort-ed run toward the house, being sure the hindered Pegasus could keep up.

After running for a short while, AJ's curiosity started to get the better of her, and she decided now was as good a time as any to get some of her questions answered.

"Say," She inclined her head slightly, looking at the Pegasus inquisitively, "Mind if Ah ask ya a few questions?"

"Huh?" Losing focus of the house, the Pegasus turned his head to her and presented a surprised expression. "Uh, sure, go ahead..."

"Thanks. Well, first of all, who are ya, and how did ya know what ta do back there? Yer Cutie Mark says that yer some kinda musician, not a doctor. Not only that, but ya jes' happened ta get here jes' in time ta save Corpus with yer doctor knowledge? Ah don' suspect ya of anythin' foul, but it's a mite outta tha ordinary if ya ask me."

"Oh, that?" His face relaxed, a sigh merging with a chuckle of laughter as he breathed out, "It's compulsory that everyone at Ponyville's Musical Academy learns how to perform mouth-to-mouth, usually for occasions where somepony takes a bad fall when fainting from stage fright or such. Seeing as how there've been a few incidents in the past where somepony's gotten pretty hurt from lack of immediate medical attention."

"Hmm," Applejack pondered on the thought for a moment, before passing judgement over his statement, "Ah suppose that's explanation enough. Anyway, mah name's Applejack, proud owner of Sweet Apple Acres. It's a pleasure ta meet ya."

"My name's Blue Notes, nice to meet you too... sorta. It could've been under slightly better conditions..." His ears fell as uncertainty fueled his words.

" Yeah... so," Her glare instinctively grew a little stronger, "What're you doin' about these parts? Ah know fer a fact that ya ain't from these neck a' tha woods, 'specially since this is mah farm."

"W-well, that's a funny story... actually..." A strained yet silly grin arose on his face.

"Ah'm listenin'."

"Well I was just on the run from a group of mares who broke into my house looking for a stallion for, well, you know, 'season'. So I decided to take refuge in the clouds above town until they lost my track. Only... a group of Pegasi found me and gave chase too..." A drop of sweat slid down his neck, discomfort about recalling this clearly displaying itself through his body, "Whilst thinking of where I could hide, I remembered Corpus saying that he was living on this farm for a few days starting yesterday, so I thought that it'd be a good idea to ask if I could hide out here until the storm died down."

"Ya thought hidin' out on this farm would be safe, even though there're three mares here?"

"W-well," He returned attention to the approaching house, recollecting some facts before speaking, "Granny Smith's a little too old for heat to be affecting her, and I thought it'd be safe with Corpus. I didn't really take him to be the submissive type, especially with that temper he has."

Applejack stopped running, turning her body to face the Pegasus', "That ain't fair!"

Feeling a shock run up his spine, the Pegasus looked to AJ wide-eyed and startled, her stare reaching him with a latent ferocity.

"Tha one an' only time Corpus has _ever_ let his anger get tha better of him since he's been here wasn't his fault! He was a complete mess when he did, he didn' even know how he was feelin' at tha time, or even who he was feelin' it at! So Ah don' want ya goin' around and givin' him a bad name fer it, understand?" Her voice was quite close to shouting, and very, very stern at the same time.

"I-I didn't mean to make him sound bad!" Blue Notes retreated a bit, moving himself slightly further away from the mare, "I was just saying that, based off previous experience, his, completely normal, temperament would probably make him a little more... dominant in those situations. I wasn't trying to insinuate anything bad about him."

Staring at him a moment longer, she withdraws her glare from him. "Don' worry, Ah believe ya." Turning from him, she began to pace herself towards the house again, the two of them being roughly 40 or so metres from the front door. "It jes' gets under mah skin a little when somepony tries ta make someone else out ta be completely different than what they are, 'specially if they're someone like Corpus."

Blue started to follow her movement, "Someone like Corpus...?" Confused by what Applejack meant, Blue raised a brow for his question.

"Someone who's willin' ta go far outta their way fer somepony else's happiness. He's a kind soul deep down, so ya can see why it'd annoy me if someone were ta try an' make him seem bad."

"Hmm," Blue looked down to the stallion in his hooves, "Yeah, I suppose I see where you're coming from..."

Arriving at the front door, AJ knocked on it, Applebloom opening it and bouncing excitedly in front of her sister. "Oh, Applejack! Guess what! Ah'm helpin' Big Macintosh find Corpus! He's gone missin' somewhere, so Ah've taken it upon mahself ta find him and earn mah 'Search-Pony' Cutie Mark!" She beamed brightly as her sister gave her a slightly frown-y smile.

"Sorry Applebloom, but we found him first." She pointed to the Blue Pegasus carrying Corpus' body, the former of which lifted a hoof in salutations.

The filly looked past her sister, her ears facing in the invert of their usual direction. "Aww..." Looking over to the supposedly found pony, Applebloom noticed the pony she'd never seen before, "Wait, who's he?" She aimed a hoof at Blue, a suspicious look on her face, "An' why's he carryin' Corpus?"

Blue's eyebrow quirked upward as the almost rude question caught him off guard.

"That's Blue Notes, Ah'm gonna be askin' Granny Smith if he can stay here fer a couple a' nights. An' we found Corpus sleepin' by a tree near tha fourth crop field, so we've brought him back so he can sleep without gettin' covered in leaves." She placed a fake smile and accompanied it with a false laugh, trying to hide her desperation to get past her sister.

"Why was he sleepin' under a tree? Doesn' he know that it's kinda... chilly out?" Her judgmental eye only probed the Stallion pair harder, making Blue shift uncomfortably in the air.

"Ah guess not!" Trying to hurry the conversation along, AJ gave a quick response and attempted to squeeze by Applebloom.

Upon seeing her sister's attempts to get in, the young filly removed herself from the doorway and allowed her sister to step in. "Y'know, ya coulda jes' asked if Ah could move."

Almost getting fed up with the pointless conversation, Applejack turned about and pulled a strained face. "S-sorry, Applebloom." She moved her face to her sister's, whispering a teensy, little lie quietly into her ear, "Ah need ta use tha lil' filly's room, Ah jes' didn' wanna say in front of Blue like that."

"Ohh!" After AJ had moved her head back to its natural position, the small filly nodded, "Ah gotcha, ya want me ta keep Blue Notes busy while yer busy, right?" A smile bore onto her face, feeling happy to have something to do.

"N-no. Jes' take him ta Corpus' room, he needs tha rest, after all."

"...Corpus or the new fella?" She twisted her head, losing track of whom the second person narrative was following.

"Tha one that's asleep an' needin' rest, Applebloom." Giving her sister a near blank stare, Applejack continued down the hall to make her lie a little more truthful.

Showing her understanding with a nod, Applebloom turned to her guest and spoke like a guide. "Alrighty! If y'all come with me, sir." She turned and started up the stairs.

Following the filly's example, Blue Notes slowly glided behind her, being sure not to knock into her as she ascended the stairs.

After a few seconds worth of near useless rambling and pointing done by the tour guide, the two arrived at Corpus' open room. Taking a step inside, Applebloom moved her arm out to 'present' the room to Blue. "An' here we have our destination, Corpus' room!"

The Pegasus flew inside and hovered in place, looking around before returning his attention to the filly, "Thank you, I'm sure I can handle it from here."

"So," She turned on the spot, showing her flank to him, "Did Ah get mah Cutie Mark? What does it look like?"

"Umm..." Taking a look at her flank, Blue puts on a disappointed face and voice. "Sorry, but it doesn't look like you have."

"Aw fiddlesticks! Ah'm never gonna get one at this rate!" She pouted, ears dropping to the sides of her head and eyes moving to the floor.

Feeling a little sympathetic towards the young pony, Blue placed Corpus on the bed besides him and lowered his own hooves to the floor, walking over to the distressed filly. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find you're talent someday." She raised her head and looked at him, "I mean, it took me until five years ago to find my Cutie Mark, so you can't really do any worse than me!" He closed his eyes and gave her a reassuring grin.

"Say, what is your Cutie Mark, anyway?"

By the time Blue had re-opened his eyes, Applebloom was already standing at his side and investigating his flank. "It's a piano with musical notes coming from within its lid, because I'm a rather skilled pianist." He gave her a smile as he looked at it himself, feeling happy about his talent.

"A pianist, huh?" Bumping her hoof against her chin for a moment, Applebloom turned about and made for the doorway.

Noticing her about to leave, Blue took a step closer and raised an eyebrow. "Uh, where're you going?"

Without turning her head, she spoke in a sort of absent-minded voice, knowing exactly what she said all the while though. "Jes' gonna find a piana, mah talent may be with instruments too..."

Walking past Applebloom in the hallway, AJ came into the room, a confused look on her face as she watched where her sister had just left from. "...Ya didn't give her any ideas about gettin' her Cutie Mark, did ya?"

"I-... only said that I was a pianist..." He broke into a cold sweat, feeling slightly guilty for whatever mayhem was to come.

"Hmm... Ah don't suppose she could do much with a piana..." Taking her eyes from the door, she looked to the Pegasus in front of her, "Anyway, Ah called fer a doctor while Ah was downstairs, he said he would be here in about ten minutes. An' Granny Smith says it'll be okay fer ya ta stay."

"Thanks!" He allowed a happy grin to protrude from his face. "...Wait,"His smile quickly broke as a memory clicked in place, "Isn't he bound to his house from High Alert?"

"Ah think doctors an' other important ponies are givin' tha position of Guardian or somethin' so they can get ta patient's houses." Taking her eyes from the Pegasus, she glances to her side to look at Corpus, seeing him laying on top of the bed sheets. She took a step towards him.

"I suppose that makes sense..." About to delve into his thoughts to bring up more conversation, he got distracted by Applejack's movements towards Corpus.

Once at the bed's side, she grabs the sheet underneath Corpus with her teeth and slides a hoof under the Stallion, lifting him as she takes the top half of the sheet out from under him. Setting him back down, the mare pulls the sheet over his body as Blue Notes watches silently. Briefly lifting her fore-legs onto the bed, she grabs the quilt's other corner and brings it up to Corpus' top as well, making sure the sheet's neatly over him.

"..." Not quite sure what to say, Blue starts a path to the door, stopping at its entrance. "I'm just gonna wait outside for the doctor. I'll probably wait near the tops of the Apple trees so I can see him from a distance."

Finishing up on 'tucking' Corpus in, AJ sets herself back onto the floor and turns to Blue Notes. "Alright, jes' make sure those mares from earlier don' see ya. No doubt they'd give us all grief."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to keep an eye out." As he was about to step out of the door, he suddenly stopped, turning to face Applejack.

"Hm? Is somethin' tha matter?"

"Actually, I'd just like to ask something." Turning the rest of his body around, he delivered a simple, straight face to AJ, "Do you like Corpus?"

The mare let out a laugh, finding the question amusing. "What sorta question is that? Of course Ah like him, like Ah do all mah friends." Her amused smile stayed on her face after she had finished.

"I don't mean like that. I mean, do you _like_ him? Do you have feelings for him?" He inclined his head slightly, making sure there was no mis-communication between them.

Her smile quickly vanished, replaced by a surprised look. "Oh, _that's_ what ya meant? Well, no, Ah don'. Dunno why yer askin' me though..."

"Well, you've only spent a day, day and a half with him, right?"

"Yeah...?" She furrowed her brow, perplexed by the meaning behind his questions.

"Then I'm guessing he's done you a really huge favor in the past day or so."

"What makes ya say that? An' how does that link with whether Ah like him or not?"

"You said earlier that he's 'Someone willing to go far out of his way for somepony else's happiness', right?"

"Yeah, Ah did... Anythin' about it?" She put more focus into what Blue was saying, making sure she wasn't misunderstanding anything he said.

"Well it's kinda hard to say something like that about a pony you've only known for a day, unless they made _really_ big a self-sacrifice, one so great that it instantly won them a lot of respect. So I was just thinking that if he made such a large sacrifice for you after knowing you for a day, he may have some feelings for you buried somewhere."

"H-huh? A-Ah think yer over-thinkin' this a tad. He did me a favor, that's all." Despite passing off Blue's idea as nonsense, a small seed of possibility planted itself into her mind.

"A favor that involved a self-sacrifice big enough for you to be convinced that he's a great pony. I'm going to be honest here, Applejack. I don't know any ponies who'd make such a big sacrifice for someone they hardly know. I doubt even you would go as far as that if there wasn't some hidden incentive somewhere."

"...Incen- wha-...?"

"A motive."

"Oh, right." She placed a hoof to her chin, losing herself in thought for a couple of seconds. "Please don' use all that newfangled fancy talk, Ah don' understand a word of it. Anyway, there may have been somethin' for him in it too. Y'know, by doin' this he'd get somethin' too."

"So what you're saying is, he made the sacrifice because he'd get something out of it too, as well as tricking you into thinking he was doing it solely for your sake?"

"Wha- no! Ah would never accuse somepony like that! Especially not without cold, hard proof." She gave Blue another glare, seeming almost insulted that he'd insinuate such a thing from her.

"So do you have this proof?" He raised an eyebrow at her, an almost superior demeanor cloaking him as he spoke.

"Uh, no... Ah don'. 'Sides, Ah doubt he'd even think of deceivin' me like that ta start with... Ah think..."

Seeing Applejack look off to the floor in a mixture of confusion and disappointment, the Pegasus simply chuckled and turned about. "Just think about it. And if you can't find an answer yourself, just ask Corpus why he did it." Heading out of the doorway, he turned his head to the mare once more, "I'll see you later, just shout if you need me." With that, he left.

Completely kerfuffled by what Blue Notes had been suggesting, AJ just sat in the middle of the bedroom floor, recalling images of the first night under heat, seeing Corpus' horrified face, remembering his struggles to break away from her, how reluctant he was at everything during the night until she broke him.

"...Ah don' think ya agreed ta it because ya wanted more, yer reaction ta last night's proof enough of that..." She stood up, walking over to the Alicorn laid down in bed and laying her head on his chest again, listening for his pulse.

... ...**ba-bump**... ... ...** ba-bump**... ...

After confirming that he's heart was still beating, she placed a hoof above his mouth, feeling a light, warm breath tickle her fur. Despite these intended distractions from her current train of thought, she still had the same thing relaying over in her mind. "...Why _did_ ya agree ta it, Corpus...? Don't ya have Twahlight...?"

* * *

_**?:? ?.?. **?, ?..._

...I'm awake...?

When did I fall asleep...?

...I don't remember... ...

...It's still dark... ...but it doesn't feel quiet...

...Or lonely... ...

Huh...? This is... a filing cabinet...?

...When did it get here...? When could I see it...?

...Can I see...? ... ...I don't know...

Oh... it opened... ...

...I'm reaching forward for the open draw... I can see my hand... ... ...hand... ...

...It... swallowed me...?

... ...It's dark again...

Wait... silver... ...letters...?

They're spelling something... ...on the black background...

...**Death Note: How to use it**...?

This is-...

**Rule #1: The human who's name is written in this note shall die.**

...I'm not reading it... ...

It's being etched into my-...

**Rule #3: If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen.**

I... can't control it... ...

It's... flooding into my mind...

"I know who you are! There's no way I'm letting a criminal like you stay here!"

...This voice... is also similar...

"-Free labour!"

"Do that again, and you're dead!"

It's... ...brutal...

**Rule #8: The human who uses this note can neither go to Heaven nor Hell.**

Nngh... it... hurts... ...

"This is outstanding! I knew I made the right choice in working with you!"

"Ha! That's the fifth one down! I have a feeling we're finding our groove guys!"

"Shut up, no-one cares about you."

**Rule #10: The human who touches the Death Note can recognize the image and voice of it's original owner-**

"Don't criticize me!"

**-if the human is not the owner of the note.**

Make it stop... please... ... it hurts...

**Rule #11: The-**

Too much... information... ...!

"Just fuck off and die!"

STOOOP!

* * *

_**02:24 P.M. **Apple Family house, Corpus' room..._

"Hmm..."

Still a couple of hours after noon, Blue, Applejack, Big Macintosh, and a dirt-brown Earth Pony with unnecessarily longs legs, and a puffy, ginger mane and tail, the former of which looks like a muffin, wearing orange-framed glasses, and a purple shirt under a lab-coat are stood inside Corpus' room. The Weird One is stood next to Corpus, a stethoscope pressed against Corpus' chest and leading into the other's ears. After listening to the pulse for a few seconds, he removes the cold, round end from the Alicorn's chest and lowers the ear pieces to his shoulders.

"Well, I think I know what the problem is." His voice left him in a very strange accent, one that whilst not as strong as the Apple family's, certainly surpassed it in both minority and abnormality.

Blue Notes was the first to speak up, a tone of excitement hiding in his voice. "R-really? You do!?"

"Why yes, it's quite obvious now that I've examined him."

This earned eager looks from around the room. Well, Big Mac looking as eager as he possibly could.

"He's... an Alicorn!"

And as soon as they appeared, everyone's smiles left them. Only, Blue was left with a bit less than a smile. "What do you mean 'Alicorn'? He's a unicorn! Anypony could tell that from looking at him!" He took a few steps towards the bed, standing next to it as he grabbed the quilt's edge, "If he's an Alicorn, then where are his wings!?" He pulled back the sheet, squealing in shock at the sight.

"Yes, yes. It is quite hard to see those wings under the bed sheet, that's why it took me so long to deduce that. It's also bad that I don't operate on teen or adult ponies, I'm more of a foal expert really."

"Bu- bu- bu-!" Blue continued to stammer, unable to express the words he wished to get out of his mouth.

"Wait, so y'all are tellin' me that ya came all tha way here, ate some a' our food, and ya can't even help?" Applejack took a step forward, challenging the doctor.

"Well, I suppose so, yes. But lunch was great, by the way. Very filling."

"Yer welcome an' all but, what're we gonna do? He was on tha verge of dyin' earlier, he could still be in danger!"

The doctor gave a frown, not entirely comfortable with the situation he'd been put in. "Look, I've run every test I can on him, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that his breathing and pulse are both running as per normal. I don't know what caused his collapse, but the worst is over. Trust me." He began walking towards the door, turning around as he reached the frame. "There's nothing more I can do here, if you want further help then call Dr. Nusbaum, he's an old friend of mine. He's a unicorn, so just tell him where to meet you and he'll be there in a jiffy. Ponyville's like a garden to him, after all." He skipped off to the side, leaving everypony's view, "Cheerio!"

After his departure, everyone stood in silence, blue still trying to utter words and AJ looking off in disbelief. Breaking the silence, Big Mac spoke up, looking at his sister as he did so. "Ah'm gonna call tha other doctor. Maybe he can give us some more closure."

"Yeah... thank ya, Big Mac..."

Following AJ's hint, Big Macintosh disappeared downstairs to call Dr. Nusbaum, hoping that a little more light could be shed on the matter.

"...He's an Alicorn...?" Staring wide-eyed at Corpus, Blue fell onto his haunches. Immediately after, he turned to Applejack, still shocked beyond belief, "A-Applejack... He's an Alicorn..."

"Yeah, Ah know..." Shaking her head from the disappointment of a doctor, she walked over to Corpus, grabbing his quilt and putting it back over him. "Because he's not awake ta tell ya himself: He's not related ta Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, or any royalty. He's a human, and apparently off ta tha West, this is what they look like." Again, she climbed onto her hind-legs and ensured the sheet was pulled over the far side too.

"It's just... a little too much to take in..." He continued to watch Corpus, the fact that his friend was, or looked like, an Alicorn still not sinking in.

"Don't worry," After checking the other side of the sheet, Applejack pushed off from the bed and landed on all fours, "Y'all get used ta it eventually. Though, ta be honest, Ah still haven' fully gotten over the wings an' horn thing either..."

"Y-yeah... if you don't mind, I'm gonna go outside and take a quick walk... some fresh air might help me clear my mind..."

"Sure, go ahead."

Having received the hoof's-up from Applejack, the Pegasus slowly walked out of the room, leaving the mare and Corpus alone.

"Haa..." Letting her shoulders fall, she meekly limps over to the window, staring outside as thoughts of Blue's earlier line of questioning flood back into her head. Groaning, she places a hoof to her fore-head and closes her eyes. "Today's been nuthin' but trouble. Big Mac almost walked in on me an' Corpus, Corpus faints an' almost dies, that Blue fella's given me stupid ideas, an' now that muffin headed doctor jes' walks away without helpin' anythin'..." She dwells on this for a further length of time, before a deep voice temporarily brings her back.

"Ah've called him. He said he'll be over in a couple a' minutes, he hasta grab his medical devices an' such."

Looking back to the doorway, AJ sees Big Macintosh coming around the corner. "Okay, thanks Big Mac." Turning her head back to the window, she glares out again, her reflection returning the glare back at her. "Yer stayin' ta hear what tha doctor hasta say?"

"Eeyup."

"Thanks, Ah'm glad ta hear it." She placed both of her fore-legs on the window sill, crossing them over and resting her chin on them.

After watching his saddened kin a while, Big Macintosh slowly trudges up to her side, glancing at her through the corner of his eye. "Ya okay Applejack?"

"Yeah... it's jes' been a crazy day is all..." A melancholic look left her and seeped through the glass pane in front of her, molding into the landscape outside. "Ah jes' hope Corpus is gonna be okay..."

"Ah hope that too. We've seen enough close ponies go already..."

"Mm... Sometimes Ah wonder how things woulda been if-"

"Hello?" A well-spoken voice broke off AJ's sentence, sourcing from a caramel yellow unicorn in a lab-coat by the door, "I'm here for a Corpus?"

"Ah," Turning from the window, the mare walks up to the occupied bed, "He's right here." She lifted a hoof to indicate to the brown Alicorn.

"Thank you Applejack." His horn illuminated with a blue glow, a few devices and a large machine appearing behind him. Before so much as taking notice of his equipment, he slipped a pill into the pony's mouth.

"Wait, how d'yall know mah name? Ah'm pretty sure Ah didn' tell it to ya when Dash hurt her wing." She tilted her head slightly and rose an eyebrow.

After placing a hoof on Corpus' chest to check his pulse, the doctor brought one of the larger devices over to him. "Rainbow Dash said your name a bit in her sleep. We got a complaint from her room-mate about how he couldn't sleep, a name he hadn't heard before being repeated over and over again throughout a part of the night." He placed the device above Corpus' body, a faint noise emanating from within the mechanical object.

"Huh, guess that's reason enough..." Shrugging her shoulders, she touches the top of her hat and tips it forward slightly, looking up to it as a vague pout arose on her lips.

"Hmm... odd, very odd..." Looking at a monitor on the machine's side, Nusbaum tapped his hoof against his chin.

Breaking from her trance, a worried expression surfaced on her. "Is somethin' wrong with him?" With her voice crawling closer to desperation, she took a step towards the doctor, "It's not his heart again, is it?"

"Hmm... I'm afraid so..." Adjusting his glasses, he took a closer look into the monitor's screen. "His diaphragm is also raising concern. They've been activating and deactivating at a strange and miraculous pace within the last half hour."

"Yer machine can tell ya that? No, never mind that, what do ya mean by activatin' an' deactivatin'?"

"I mean the muscles have been shutting down and then working again. I can honestly say that in all my years as a surgeon, a case like this has never come up." Grabbing a second machine from behind him with his magic, he pulls it in front of him and takes a few leads from its sides, moving them towards Corpus as the first device returned to its former position.

"I-is he gonna be okay...?" Feeling sweat drops as large and heavy as bullets run down her head, Applejack took another step forward. Now placing herself almost directly next to Corpus.

"I don't know, to be honest," From one of the leads, a small muzzle mask hangs on the edge. A form of strap existing as the terminal point on the other lead. Wrapping the strap around Corpus' fore-leg and placing the mask on his face, Nusbaum flicked a switch on the machine's exterior. "But I can only hope for the best."

"What's tha machine fer? Is he in that bad of a condition?" A piece of panic slowly began to make itself apparent in her voice.

"I'm going to be completely honest here with both of you," Lowering his glasses from his eyes, Nusbaum gave the Apple siblings a hard stare, "I would keep him linked up to this until he either wakes up and gets better, or... passes away. This is a life support machine. It's currently modulating his breathing and heart rate, so it'll keep him sustained for a rather long period of time if his heart or breathing were to stop. I'll keep him in this until my assistant brings me the equipment necessary to perform an emergency transplant, but I'm hoping not to have to resort to that."

A lump squeezed its way down Applejack's throat, her fear festering into an ever larger form. "Is she on her way here now? With tha equipmen'?

Re-adjusting his glasses on his face, he continues with his nearly un-remorseful look. "No, I'm going to contact her in a moment to ask if she could send an order for them to be delivered here, so they may not arrive until morning. Speaking of which," He walked to the door, turning his head to make eye contact once he had drawn close enough, "Would it be possible for me to take temporary residence here until my assistant shows up? I'd like to keep a constant eye on Corpus without moving him to another institute."

"Yeah, that should be okay..."

"Thank you." He started to walk off into the hallway, but quickly stopped and looked back to AJ and her brother. "Oh, but please don't look so down. With the fluctuations in his health, even a good outcome may not be all that unthinkable. Nothing's decided until he's either better or worse, understand?"

With a small portion of her fear reduced, the mare and Big Mac both sent the doctor affirming nods.

Smiling, the caramel unicorn left the room.

"..." Slowly walking past Applejack, Big Macintosh followed in the doctor's decision to leave. "...Ah'm gonna buck some trees, y'all can stay here if ya want. Sales are gonna be slow fer a while longer..."

"Yeah, thanks Big Mac. Ah think Ah'll stay a bit longer." She gave the work-pony a soft smile as he left.

Once the elder stallion had departed the room, Applejack sighed and turned to Corpus, a melancholic feeling building up inside of her as she watched the machine breathe and operate his heart for him. She sat by his bed and waited, watching him for the remainder of the day, not leaving his side for even dinner or her relatives heading to bed. During the passing hours, Nusbaum and Blue made frequent visits to keep an updated eye on Corpus' health, only to achieve the same result from each check-up. Eventually, even those two retired to their beds, Leaving AJ as the only pony still up.

* * *

_**?:? ?.?. **?, ?..._

It... ...hurts...

**Rule #79: Only a god of death that has passed on their Death Note to a human is able to kill the owner of the Death Note.**

"You deserve to die!"

*Gunshot*

"You're lucky I'm not turning you in right now."

"I'm go-!"

**Rule #34: If you lose the Death Note or have it stolen, you will lose its ownership unless you retrieve it in 490 days.**

My head feels numb... ... almost as if... a searing spike were being dragged... through my brain...

...This is the forth time...

It won't stop... ...

...It's been going on for hours... ...

... ... ...

...I can't hear the voices any more... ...but... ...their words are engraved into my brain...

...Help...please... ... ...

It... ...hurts...

* * *

_**11:37 P.M. **Apple Family house, Corpus' room..._

It's completely still, almost dark from the lack of natural light coming from outside, and the soft whirring of the machine providing the only noise in the room. Applejack sat by the bed motionless, staring endlessly at her incapacitated friend. For over nine hours she's been observing him, quietly muttering words on her mind all the while, the topics of which ranged from apologies for her selfish actions to wishes for him to get better. She had also been uncomfortable for the past hour or so, her heat beginning to take effect again a little after half ten. But despite this, she hasn't once gotten up to relieve herself. To, even with already given consent, engage in intercourse with Corpus whilst he was in such a bad condition, it was unthinkable for her to commit. So patiently holding it back with all her strength, she managed to survive it to the point where it no longer caused much bother. Though now, a different condition was starting to ail her. Being up for 18 hours, working, and restlessly watching and wishing for her friend's health to improve has left her on the verge of falling asleep.

For the first time in God knows how long, she rose onto all of her legs and took the step that diminished the distance between her and the bed, standing next to the machine as it, also, kept a close eye on the stallion. She placed her fore-legs onto his bed, brushing one over his fore-head as she checked his temperature. Feeling content at the normality of the heat on his head, she returned focus to him, resting her weary head on one of her legs as she lightly stroked where his fore-leg's impression pushed through the bed sheet.

"... ...Why did ya do it, Corpus...? Did ya know yer heart was in bad shape...? ...Wouldn' it have been easier ta say 'no'...? Ta avoid this whole mess an' keep yerself fer Twah?" She closed her eyes a little as tiredness started to get the best of her, a tear that cried for sleep forming at the base of her eyelid. "Although," She panned her gaze from Corpus to her own leg, ceasing movement of her hoof against his leg as guilt started to seep into her worn mind, "Ah shoulda thought about what ya wanted instead of actin' on desire... Maybe none a' this woulda happened if Ah weren' bein' so stupid... ...Ah'm sorry, Corpus. Ah really wish Ah could do somethin' other than sit here vein' useless..." Losing herself to her body's needs, she closed her eyes, reaching sleep's door as her final words of the night whispered out from her lips. "Please get better, Corpus. Yer too much of a precious friend ta lose..."

Finally reaching her limit, the orange mare fell to sleep alongside the Alicorn, pure silence defeated only by the machine's soft whirring.

"...Sorry for putting you through this partner, but I had to do it..." A quiet voice floated through the room, flowing over the sleeping bodies of the ponies.

Following the voice's appearance, Corpus' horn slowly started to fade, becoming non-existent within seconds. Whilst he lay horn-less and unconscious, a hand landed on his mane and scruffled it, stopping and leaving after a few movements. The figure the hand belonged to stood up and stepped off the bed, walking towards the window and opening it. Looking back, the figure's glasses reflected the little moonlight reaching them into the room, high-lighting his light hair. Giving the Alicorn-turned-Pegasus a distressed look, Ly promptly climbed onto the window's frame and jumped out, softly landing on the ground outside with barely a 'tuft'.

Once outside, he looked back up tp Corpus' bedroom window, "Sorry again for messing with your body and releasing some hidden memories, I just needed some time away from you to get what I need." Looking away from the house, he began walking, uttering his words quietly as he left. "I need to go now, Corpus. There's something I need to take care of, but I'll be back, just hang on until then." Disappearing into the dark of the Apple fields, he started on his journey to Ponyville.

* * *

_**12:00 A.M. **Sweet Apple Acres, Western Field..._

"I freakin' LOVE this place! I'll never go hungry again! Apples, apples and MORE apples as far as I can see! HAHAHAHAHA!" A dark figure dove back into the leafy branches of an apple tree, insane laughter bursting from inside. Judging from the silhouette gifted by the minimal light on the land, it was a Pegasus.

It's dusk, the time where everything diurnal is completely at rest. It's a cloudy night too. So the light from the Moon and its accompanying stars is barely making a break through the thick barrier of cumuli, cloaking the area in a bask of near unnatural darkness.

"Would you stop messing around? We're here for one reason, and one reason only."

Identities kept hidden by the black of the night, two entities were passing through the hundreds of apple trees erupting from the earth, slowly making progress towards the Apple family's farm.

"I know, but we're not gonna get there for God knows how long. So I may as well eat all the apples I can!" The figure returned to the inside of the rustling shield, any signs of its existence vanishing with it. "And besides," The head poked back out, "Don't forget where you stand. I'm only helping you because I don't particularly like it here either, so don't go thinking that I'm your lackey."

"I know that already," A light flashed atop the spire on the second's head, a horn illuminated by a red aura becoming visible. "You can kill me at any time, after all. But your interference with my work is just proof that we're after the same goal here."

The first being stayed silent and motionless, watching the other intensely. Several moments passed before it spoke up again. "So how're you going to accomplish it? It'll be hard with others around."

Through the vision gifted by the horn's light, a grin could vaguely be seen appearing on the face of the figure. "Easy, I'll just kill them if they get in my way. I'm sure a few extra lives won't be of any importance. Besides," A small, long object with a sharp end floated to the face of the figure, giving light to his pure red irises that seemed to pierce through the darkness, "Stopping the death of Corpus, **is a crime punishable by death."**

* * *

**Dun dun duuuun!**

**Who are these mysterious ponies? Why're they after Corpus? Why does writing in third person for the entire chapter feel weird? You have  
three guesses to get the answers right, GO! :D**

**Anyway, review on the good, the bad and the myeh!**

**Oh, and don't forget to tell me your view on the faster part, it still bothers me no matter how much a few individuals tell me it's fine... :/**

**Until next time,**

**Bye Bi!**


	27. Chapter 27: The 13th Morning: Encounter

_**VERY Important Note:**_

**Please do _NOT _start reading here. This Chapter contains some very strong and important information regarding the story and  
its progression, continuing to read this installment without having read the chapters before this will give you a  
painfully large spoiler. Although, said spoiler shall only affect you if you decide to read the rest of this story because you like it. Regardless, I  
can't be too careful with spoilers :3 And yes, this shall be my generic spoiler warning from now on :P**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry for yet another long absence, I haven't been the most motivated (or even just simply pro-active) mood as of recent times. There have been  
no problems, I've just been a lazy-arse git XD Well, that and I moved house about two weeks ago whilst being cared for at my father's, which has no reliable source of internet connection... Which would account for only one of the four unattended weeks :P And just so you know, the move went well ^_^**

**Rrrregardless! I present to thou, thy newesteth chaptereth!**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_**07:04 A.M. **S.A.A, Corpus' room..._

"...M-mnn..."

Slowly opening her eyes, Applejack stretches her fore-hooves over the bed, takes an involuntary deep breath and re-closes her eyes,

"Aauuu..."

After becoming satisfied with the stretch, she brings her hooves back to herself, looking groggily at the Pegasus still laying unconscious in the bed. "...Mornin' Corpus..." She pushes on the bed until she knocks her upper body from it and onto her haunches, then standing up and stretching her hind legs with a small groan.

"Ah, good morning Applejack." Hearing a voice at the door, AJ turned around to see Dr. Nusbaum entering. "Did you come to see him yourself?"

The mare finished her stretching and corrected her stance. "No, Ah fell ahsleep while Ah was watchin' him last night," As she spoke, the doctor walked over to Corpus, "An' Ah jes' woke up mahself."

"I see..." Taking at least some note of what she had said, Nusbaum read the machine's collected data as he began his routine check-up on the ailed pony. "Blue Notes went off to collect my assistant's equipment so that we may begin quicker. I expect him to be back within the hour."

With a troubling thought plaguing her mind, Applejack silently watched the doctor as he carried out his research. "...Hey, Doc?"

Nusbaum turned his head to acknowledge Applejack's question. "Hm?"

"Do ya... know what made him get like this? From what ya've gathered, that is." She was sub-consciously circling her hoof across the floor beneath her as uneasiness started to invade her body.

"I have one idea, yes." He tuned back to his machine, his horn glowing as a pen started scratching some notes onto his clipboard.

"A-an' what would that be?" Nervousness and anxiety started to exponentially grow within her, hoping with all her might that it would have nothing to do with her.

"In these cases, and especially due to where he's currently at, I would guess that extreme over-exertion would be the cause of his cardiac arrest and malfunctioning diaphragm."

Her face flinched a bit, some of the words leaving the doctor's mouth making no sense to the mare. "So that means..."

"He over-worked himself until his body gave up."

Applejack felt a sting colder than ice rip through her chest. If what Nusbaum had said was correct, then she was, in essence, responsible for anything that happens to Corpus in this state. "D-...Doc?"

"Yes Applejack?" This time around, the doctor didn't turn his full physical attention to the mare, he was too busy finishing off his notes to do so.

"...Ah'm tha reason Corpus' in this state." Hurting inside, she deterred her attention to the floor. And as she did this, the doctor looked towards her with a near astonished expression. "He was workin' real hard an' plowed one a' tha big crop fields in a few hours, so he was all tuckered out. But then Ah made him push himself even harder, an' Ah guess it was too much fer him..."

Nusbaum watched her as she held her head low, soon releasing his shocked look and placing on, instead, a subtly gentle face. "So you're taking responsibility of what's happening to him?"

She swallowed, a thick lump accompanying her throats movements as it bulged down the pipe. "Yeah... it's mah fault..." The full extent of just how guilty she was had just hit Applejack, making the pain in her chest spread from its source.

"Well I'm not sure how to tell you this, but," The doctor rose his clipboard into the air, making it face the distressing mare, "There's no way you can take responsibility for it."

Taken by complete surprise at what Dr. Nusbaum had said, AJ raised her head to give him an almost enraged glare. "What d-!"

"There are no signs of stress or over-exertion present either in and/or on his body. His heart failure wasn't caused by any form of work, nor whatever it was you had him do afterward."

"...S-so..." Her lips unwillingly curved into a smile, the searing pain in her chest transforming into a light, fluffy sensation at a miraculous pace. "C-"

"But it's strange..." Cutting off Applejack, Nusbaum returned the clipboard to face him, "If what you say is true, then there should be evidence in his muscles of having gone through that manual labor. Yet there's nothing here, no signs of doing any work at all."

"Wait a minute," Confusion mixing in with her relief, AJ raised an eyebrow at the medical specialist, "Didn' ya jes' say that he's like this _becus_ he worked too hard?"

"No, I simply said that if I had to guess, then that'd be the most probable explanation. But I can see how I confused you." Flipping a page on his board over, the doctor started to read further notes made from earlier inspections.

"Then... why is he like this? What made his body give in like that?" Applejack's confusion only increased as the doctor continued to go in round-a-bout ways of explaining Corpus' condition.

"In all honesty? I've no clue whatsoever." Sighing, Nusbaum let the page fall back into its previous position. "This really doesn't make any sense, there's no presented reason as to why he's suffering like this." Looking away from his notes and the machine, Nusbaum stood himself next to Corpus and made a visual analysis on his body.

"Well there hasta be a reason. Ponies don' almost die with no explanation." Still feeling confused, Applejack also walked over to Corpus and began looking at him, trying to see what the doctor was attempting to.

"You're absolutely right on that one, Applejack. So it may be due to a medical condition." The doctor started to make quick glances about Corpus' body, beginning to feel like something was horribly wrong.

"Medical condition? There's one that gives yer heart trouble?"

"Yes, there are a few that'll induce similar circumstances such as this one."

Applejack pulled a blank to what he had said, shaking her head and just pretending she knew what he said.

"Although, something feels a little off about his appearance today... Do you feel it too, Applejack?" Nusbaum rose his head to Applejack, giving her an inquisitive glance.

"Hm?" AJ looked to the doctor, then back at the Pegasus laying in bed.

_Actuallly... Ah can kinda see it too. But what's...-_

"Wha- What in tarnation!?"

Dr. Nusbaum jumped out of his skin, "W-what's wrong? Is the feeling that bad?"

Applejack ran over to Corpus, placing her hoof on his fore-head to make sure she wasn't imagining it. "H-...his horn's gone!" She quickly grabbed his quilt and pulled it back, revealing his wings still by his side.

"Wha- How!?" Nusbaum flipped through his notes in a frenzy, looking back to his initial information about the patient. "You're right! I've got him down as a Unicorn! How did he transform into a Pegasus!? There's never been a case like this throughout all of Equestria's medical history!" He started to get flustered, incessantly looking from Corpus, to his notes, and back to Corpus again.

"N-no, he's an Human, so he looks like an Alicorn. Err, _did _look like an Alicorn. But, how did his horn jes' go like that!? It should still be here!"

Hearing that shocking piece of news doubled up upon his initial surprise, Dr. Nusbaum stared at Applejack bewilderingly. "A... human? An Alicorn-like creature? He was an Alicorn-like creature before this!?"

Getting startled by the doctor's raised voice as well as the disappearance of Corpus' horn, Applejack took a step back. "Y-yeah, he was. But, Ah don' know what happened. His horn jes'... Ah don' know..." Also feeling bewildered, she surrendered thinking about the matter and just lightly shook her head.

Also staying silent, Nusbaum slowly breathed in and out, allowing himself to recuperate his thoughts. After spending a while thinking, he spoke out again. "Applejack, is there anything at all you know about, 'humans'? His condition might have something to do with any subtle difference between them and us other ponies."

"Huh? Uh, no... Ah only know that they have wings an' horns an' live off far to ta west of here. Somewhere called tha 'United Kingdom' or somethin'..."

"Hmm..." Looking back to his machine for a while, he took a look through the data collected by it. Nearly satisfied at his reading he looked back to the mare. "His anatomy and organs seem to be the same as those of a normal pony's. Assuming they have both wings and horns, anyway. But even though his horn has mysteriously vanished, it may be sensible to assume that it was due to his 'human' heritage. But I can't overlook the possibility that something else may make a factor to his transformation. Applejack..." He left a long pause, looking at her silently.

"Yeah...?" Unsure of what was to come, she braced herself for both some bad news, or for offering her help.

"I need you to tell me exactly what happened yesterday," His stare turned into a gaze of the utmost seriousness, "Down to every last little detail possible. And I want you to be completely honest with me all the while, understand?"

This isn't what she was expecting, not in the slightest. As a physical representation of how much she didn't expect this to be an outcome, her pupils dilated, sweat began to drip down her neck, her mouth turned askew, and her speech was temporarily disabled. "W-...Why, Ah'm always honest! There's no way Ah wouldn' tell tha truth!" She took a falsely brave step forward, trying to mask up her uneasiness.

"That's good to know. So please, give me the explicit details of what happened to him yesterday. The secret as to what's happening to him may lie in anything he was involved in, including whilst he was unconscious."

Applejack gulped, her nerves wracking through her brain as the thought of explaining their barn-based activities ran through her mind. "E-everythin'...?"

"Yes, any detail could be vital information. His life is possibly on the line here." His glare never lowered in intensity, keeping its full strength focused on the clearly nervous mare.

Trying to find some form of escape, Applejack stared at the doctor with hope-filled eyes, wishing for him to revoke at least a part of his command. After getting no such mercy, she reluctantly wielded and sighed, lowering her view to the floor as embarrassment started to fill her. "Hokay... Ah guess Ah'll tell ya..."

As she started to talk, a black shadow whisked past the window and towards the apple trees. Once it had flown past a couple dozen or so trees, it descended to where a harshly light brown Unicorn stood, hovering above him as its jet black wings held it in the air.

"So how many are there?"

"From what I saw, there were five others excluding your target. Speaking of which, he seems to be in bad shape. I wouldn't expect him to get up anytime soon."

"I see, thanks for scouting that out for me." The Unicorn sat back against a tree, closing his eyes as he seemingly entered thought.

"As I said, I'm only doing this out of self interest. I have no intentions of helping you any further than necessary."

"I know, and I said I won't require your help any more than necessary." Keeping himself still against the tree, he opened his scarlet eyes and glared directly into the direction of the Apple family's house.

"...So how're you gonna get to him with so many others around? You've dealt with tough situations before, but you're gonna have to work your way through five others to get to him. And you're gonna get screwed over if any of them find out who you are." Leaving the Unicorn's side, the Pegasus flew into an apple tree and started munching on one of the bearing fruits.

"I believe I've already told you Ryuk, I'll kill anyone who does the misdeed of defending that criminal, no matter who they are."

"Mmph!" Swallowing down an apple, the black pony looks down at whom he is haunting. "That's not what I meant."

"Hm?" The Unicorn shifted his gaze to the Pegasus poking out of the treetop above him. "Then what do you mean?"

"I mean how're you gonna carry this all out. Though I couldn't care either way, you don't know much about this world, and you're very unprepared. Your chances of success are very slim."

"..." The Unicorn sliently stared at the Pegasus, his narrow eyes staying locked onto him. Then, in a nonchalant manner, he closed his eyes and faced forward again. "I'm aware of that. And I'm also aware that this is the last chance I'll get at retrieving my Death Note, especially since this pastel-coloured land is trying to hunt me down." His horn glowed brightly, a paper piece enshrouded by a crimson aura rising to his front. "But this final piece of the Death Note is more than enough to let me kill Corpus and take back my Note. I may not be adequately prepared, but so long as I keep to my plan and have my identity remain hidden," He re-opened his eyes, an evil smirk accompanying their piercing scarlet gaze, "It should be all too easy."

"..." Ryuk stared at the pony, seemingly in awe. Then a demented aberration of a smile broke onto his face.

_Heh, I never thought that he would prove to be this interesting. The Death Note must have a stronger grip than I estimated._

"So when're you gonna kill him? I'm getting a little bored of waiting around." He pulled a hoof out of the tree's branches, holding onto an apple with it.

"...Soon. I'm going to wait for them to leave the house first. Once they have, I'll just approach them and request to see Corpus."

Finishing the apple he had just picked, the Pegasus leaped into another tree. "If you don't hurry up, then I may just kill you for fun..."

"Doing that will prevent your return to our world." The Unicorn returned the Death Note piece to his chest pocket, stood up, and began sifting through the trees until the Apple house was view-able through a small gap in the plantation.

"Maybe so, but I can still have fun with _my_ Death Note if you're dead."

"Hm. Your motives never change, do they?"

* * *

_**07:53 A.M. **Apple family house, Kitchen..._

Holding her head at an uncomfortable low, Applejack entered the kitchen and sat down by the table, catching the attention of her Grandmother, whom was preparing breakfast.

"Mornin' Applejack." Her old voice enthusiastically croaked from her throat.

The mare exhumed a tired sigh, "Mornin' Granny Smith..."

The old pony turned from her dashboard and faced the her granddaughter. "What's wrong Sugahplum? Corpus not gettin' better yet?"

"That's part of it..." She lowered her head onto the table, giving a gloomy gaze to the apples propped in a bowl at the furniture's center.

Becoming concerned by what the young mare meant, Granny Smith put down her utensils and came to Applejack's side. "He hasn' gott'n worse, has he...?"

"Ah don't think so. Although his horn seems ta have run off somewhere."

"R-run off?" The elder put a hoof to her chin as she lost herself in thought, "I've never heard of a horn doin' that before..."

"Tha doctor thinks it may have somethin' ta do with him bein' a human "experiencin' strange phenomina" or somethin'. Ah didn't quite understand some a' what he said..."

Granny Smith pulled a pained face, squinting her eyes as she bore her teeth. "Phenomi-wha? Why is he usin' such darn'd long doctor words? We weren' brought up in Manehatt'n y'know!"

"Yeah..." Sullenly eyeing the apples, Applejack sat up and turned to her Grandmother. "He said that somethin' Corpus did yesterday coulda caused his heart problems an' made his horn disappear."

The green elder rose an eyebrow, "Y'all don' think yer tha cause of it, do ya?"

Applejack's voice suddenly turned from quiet and secluded to nearly loud and... screaming for help. "Ah put him through an awful lot yesterday! Not only did he plow tha whole of tha fourth crop field, he also had ta do what Ah made him! Ah know tha doctor said that he has no signs of bein' strained, but still!"

"An' what was it ya made him do?"

AJ caught her voice in her throat, pulling the corners of her mouth apart as she tried regaining her speech. "T-...tha same as night before last..."

Granny Smith sighed, placing her old hoof around AJ's neck. "Sugah, look, Ah don' think ya were tha cause of what happened ta Corpus. Some hard work an' sex doesn' make anypony die or lose their horn."

"But what if it does becus he's a human? Ah have ta take responsibility fer what Ah caused."

"..." Granny Smith stared at the mare for a moment longer, taking her hoof from around her shoulder. "Why don't y'all go out an' buck some trees? Ya might be able ta get some a' yer mind cleared up." Following this, she stood up and went back to preparing their morning meal.

"But Grann-"

"Jes' go an' work some, Sugah. Ah think that'll ease ya up a lil'."

Silenced by her Grandmother, Applejack just sat there unable to speak. Although soon regaining the right and ability to talk, she decided to, instead, follow what her Grandmother said and go outside to buck some trees.

"Oh, an' Applejack?"

Turning to the Elder's voice when she had reached the exit, Applejack rose and eyebrow.

"If he didn' try ta fight ya off or tell ya otherwise, then Ah don' think he saw anythin' ya did as dangerous." She spoke without turning her head, keeping her visual focus on the food in front of her. "Nopony knows as much about him as he does, so Ah expect him ta know what'll put him in harm's way more so than any doctor in Equestria. There's no way he'd let ya endanger his life, so keep that in mind while yer out there, okay?"

Giving a simple nod despite her Grandmother not looking, AJ exited the kitchen and started to the trees, feeling almost a little better and sorta ready to work.

Leaving herself to the food for a couple minutes longer, Granny Smith remained silent. After most of the preparations had been finished, she wiped a bead of sweat from her wrinkly brow and turned to look at the door.

"...That pony isn't actin' like herself recently. Ah suspect she's a lil' worried about that letter Twahlight sent an' that heat's got her all worked up, but Ah've never seen her this sad since..." Realizing what she was talking about, the green pony shook her head and deterred herself from the door's direction, starting towards the stairs instead. "...Ah suppose that might have her a lil' bit concerned fer everypony as well... But Ah wish she wouldn' blame herself fer it. She hasta learn that she wasn' responsible fer anypony's death, or Corpus' health." Leaving it at that, the Granny climbed the stairs and made for Applebloom's room.

* * *

_**08:04 A.M. **Sweet Apple Acres, Western Field..._

Ryuk once again landed himself in the area above the Unicorn, keeping himself aloft by flapping his wings.

"Update?"

"Two of them are outside, two are in the kitchen making breakfast, and the last one's in the main hall on the phone."

"Perfect..." Standing up from behind the tree, the Unicorn started to walk toward the house at a steady pace, "Corpus is left completely unguarded, now is the perfect time to get in there and strike him down."

Following his hauntee in suit, Ryuk rose above him very slightly. "And what's your method of killing going to be? He won't tell you his name, nor will he be speaking at all."

"Hm hm hm... This situation, Ryuk," A small, evil gleam shimmered as a smile bore itself upon him, "Opens up multiple opportunities. I can kill him in just about any way I like."

Keeping silent at the pony's remark, the Pegasus simply floated behind him as they drew ever closer to the former's target. But as they set upon the open grass of the farm, Big Macintosh caught sight of them and begun his slow trudge over. Also catching a glimpse of the work-horse in his sights, the Unicorn slowed to a stop and presented a modest smile to the approaching stallion.

"Ah, good morning sir. I was informed that someone by the name of Corpus was staying here, would it be possible to meet him?"

"..." The big pony's eyes stared down at the Unicorn's open brown pools, almost analyzing them as he stood there. "...Ah don' think Ah've seen ya around before. Ya'll are somepony new?"

Keeping his facade at a perfect level, the Unicorn kindly nodded his head. "Yes, I just arrived here last night. I've been travelling across Equestria in search for an old friend of mine, Corpus. I heard in that town back there that he was staying here for a while. Well, before they all became on the look-out for that murderer that's running about."

Big Mac kept his eyes scanning across the pony's face, almost as if he were searching for physical evidence that he wasn't being truthful. "...Alright," After a few more seconds had passed, he lowered his defenses, "Ah trust ya." He broadly turned his body about, pointing a large hoof to one of the upstairs windows on their house. "Corpus is jes' in that room there."

"Thank you very much." Giving an appreciative nod to Big Mac's helpfulness, the Unicorn proceeded past him and towards the house. But, the red stallion blocked his path with a large hoof.

"But Ah'm afraid he's not feelin' too well at tha moment, so Ah'm gonna hafta ask ya ta come back sum otha time."

_Hmph, I' didn't want to resort to this so quickly, but I see I have no choice..._

Looking taken back, the Unicorn widened his eyes and placed false sympathy in his voice. "Oh no, really? What's happened to him?"

"Dunno," Big Mac lowered his hoof to the ground again, "Jes' sum bad health problems, Ah guess." His uninterested eyes stayed on the brown Unicorn in front of him.

"Oh, well give him my condolences." He turned away, taking but a step before briskly turning back again. "Oh, I forgot." He held out his hoof, "My name's Lickety Split, what's your's?" As he finished his sentence, his horn shimmered with a red aura as the piece of paper arose from his chest pocket, a prepped pen arriving with it.

The young Apple didn't take much care for the odd gesture nor hold out his hoof, but instead kept a mostly unintentional watch on the pony. "Mah name's Bi-"

"Big Macintosh!"

Both the Unicorn and the Earth Pony turned their heads to the owner of the voice, the former giving his usual stare as a glint of anger sparked in the other's eyes.

_Tch! That's both of the ponies outside here now. Just more obstacles coming to me..._

Taking minimal account of the new pony on the farm, Applejack gave him a quick glance as a polite formality. "Howdy there, stranger." Surrendering her polite gesture, she turned her head to her brother. "Do ya think y'all could take over buckin' tha trees tomorra? Ah wanna go an' visit Twahlight ta ask her about sumthin'."

"Eeyup. Don' bother me..."

An eager smile burst onto the mare's face as a small chuckle of a satisfied breath broke past her lips.

As Applejack began to speak to her brother, the Unicorn's withheld stare stated to leak into visible existence within correlation to his annoyance.

_Damn, they're going to be wasting the little time I have at this rate. _His crimson-brown eyes shifted to Big Mac. _I could kill this one now, but then the mare would probably request that I run an errand to try and secure his lost life... There's no way to get out of this. I'm restricted from heading any further, and I want to keep at least one of them alive. _With his eyes travelling to the edge of their sockets to direct attention at Ryuk, the pony intensified his glare. _And I can't ask Ryuk to do anything because he doesn't own a Death Note... _ He closed his eyes and released a calming breath. _All I can hope for is some distraction to get both of them away, or at least me to Corpus._

"Shit..."

Whilst the Quad of ponies stood by one another, a figure swiftly moved by the far end of the open plain and towards the house's rear entrance. It slipped in through the kitchen and past the two farm-ponies preparing a meal.

"That's not good..."

It came to a sudden halt in the hallway, seeing Doctor Nusbaum facing in the same direction whilst speaking on the phone. Quietly, the shape moved until it was behind the Doctor. Then, Nusbaum hit an almost quick turn as he continued to speak, the figure barely able to keep behind him as it progressed for the stairs. Reaching the summit, the figure entered through Corpus' slightly ajar door.

The Pegasus was still sleeping calmly with the machine observing his body's every change.

"...Sorry..."

The figure lowered a hand near the floor, placing a saddlebag on the wooden surface. Once the bag had been placed, he opened it up and took out a single object from within it. Taking the object to the Pegasus, the Auburn-haired man in a lab coat looked down upon his other half.

"I've put you through a lot of trouble over the past 18 hours, but it's all going to be over now..."

Ly pulled back the quilt for the bed and lifted up one of Corpus' wings, tucking the item beneath it before closing the tuft of plumage back into its previous position.

"I had to keep you in the dark about everything I'm doing, you see. If you'd known, you wouldn't be doing anything as efficiently as you have been, which would be pretty damn bad." Mixing a piece of soft laughter with the final phrase of his sentence, Ly lowered himself to Corpus' level. "But I promise that I'll bring everything to light as we go along this road, okay?" He placed his palm upon Corpus' forehead and presented a calm smile. "Sorry again for stopping your pulse and breathing and releasing hundreds of repressed memories, but it was the only way of keeping you down. Well, at least you know everything I do regarding our past now." Ly's image began to fade as a soft light emanated from the Pegasus' forehead. "...Let's go get 'em, partner..."

With the same light enshrouding the entirety of Corpus' being, his horn re-assumed its form atop his head, and his eyes opened to a reflective screen.

* * *

My eyes shot open as drastically sharp breaths forced their way into my being, beads of cold sweat running down the side of my head all the while.

I laid there for several more moments, staring blankly at the reflective screen in front of me as the heat aspect of my breath condensed on its cool surface, making the surrounding area 'misty'. Eventually, my breathing rate began to stabilize and return into its former rhythm, and a sense of safety began to slowly fill my husk body.

"...Haa... haa... fuck..." I rose a hoof to the monitor's screen, noticing that it was shaking fervently as my nerves racked themselves twice over. "...I thought I was gonna die..." Proceeding with my original intention, I place my hoof on the screen's side and push it away from myself, allowing me to see the wooden ceiling.

Suddenly, a shiver rattled down my chest... no, not a shiver... My chest vibrated from the previous sense of impending doom and fear, bringing my senses into fuller awareness and partially dragging me out of my trance-like state.

"L-... Ly...?"

No voice responded, there was only silence by a machine's humming in the room...

(Yes?)

That surprised me. Did he respond earlier? Maybe I didn't hear it... Or maybe my sense of time of out of whack? I don't know...

"...What happened...?"

My voice greatly resembled that of a scared child's. One whom was seeking comfort in its parents' voices.

_(I'll tell you in a few minutes. But first, can you sit up?)_

"I... I think so..."

Following from my sub-consciousness' hint, I shift my center of mass to my haunches and push off the mattress behind me, making my body arrive at a neutralized sitting position. Allowing my chest to continue to rise and fall from hard breaths, I sit still and await further instruction from my guide.

_(Okay, good. Now try to stand up, but don't push yourself.)_

Complying to his orders, I shift myself to the bed's edge and push off, roughly and shakily landing on all four hooves. Though I'm firmly set on the ground, I'm having a but of trouble maintaining my balance.

_(You okay? You seem a bit wobbly.)_

"Y-yeah, I'm fine..."

Quickly summoning willpower and finding the strength in my legs, I manage to make a stable form upon the polished surface beneath me.

"I feel kinda dizzy..."

As I spoke, my eyes stared to the floor in a near lifeless manner, presenting the lack of awareness I was still caught by.

_(Just stand strong, I guarantee you'll feel better in a few minutes.)_

Small thoughts started to work through my mind, recalling minor details about the nightmarish dream I had just endured.

"...Where did you go...?"

I heard a small stutter of air in my head, as if Ly had begun to talk before silencing himself.

_(...I left for a short while, but I promise that I won't be going anytime soon. But that aside, do you think you could do me a favour")_

I mindlessly nod my head, though still aware of the gesture as I performed it.

_(Could you walk over to that window there and look out? There's something I want you to see.)_

I turn my head to where Ly had indicated, seeing the glass pane stuck in the wall displaying a picture painted entirely of an almost unrealistically bright sky partially covered by a few dozen apple trees.

Abiding by my ego's request, I approach the fragile portal and look through it at the grassy ground below. On it I see three figures... There's... Big Mac... Applejack... and-!

"...!"

Dark, Black, Swollen, Sharp, Cold, Zoom.

Feeling in my chest.

Everything around me.

My throat.

The air piercing my lungs.

My eyes as they struggle to fathom what they see.

Onto that single point. That one pony stood in front of them.

Without me realizing, my lips begin to move at the same tempo and within the shapes as his.

"Could you tell me your name...?"

Sudden, stronger realization hit me, hard. An indescribable feeling welled up within me as I spoke this aloud, my eyes paining themselves with the searing coldness that seeped into them from their exerted efforts.

I've broken out of my trance. I'm fully awake now...

_(We need to ac-! HEY!)_

I don't know why I did it... Maybe desperation? Perhaps I'm just reckless by nature? I don't know. All I do know is that, whilst Ly began to speak, I jumped through that glass pane. Some of its remains stood in jagged proportions inside the wooden case, whilst other shards accompanied my swift descent.

_(What the hell!?)_

I land on the ground outside with a loud thump resounding from under my hooves, a menacing pain surging through the wrist I just injured. But what else was I to do? He asked her name... an unforgivable act from anyone like him...

_(...At least warn me before you act like that...)_

"You're supposed to be able to read my mind, right? Then you should have seen it coming."

Keeping my eyes closed, I adjust my stance so I am standing up straight, head directed toward where I had seen the ponies. I slowly open my eyes, Big Macintosh, Applejack, and the other pony entering my sights in order. Whilst I'm sure the former two's expressions were filled with shock, I couldn't help but focus on _his_. A smug look, one seeming with evil and dark desires. Quite fitting actually. How else would the Murderer greet you? Although I'm quite confident in my stare too. It scares me. An un-suppressed build-up of emotion accumulating in its glare. Actually, I think I know what that strange feeling I had earlier was. Chances are that it was the same thing darting from my stare now.

**Pure and unrestrained bloodthirsty rage.**

* * *

**Ta-duun!**

**And now to leave you on a cliffhanger until the next chapter's finished :D**

**In addition, I quite like the bold writing at the end of a chapter thing. Might use it more often ^_^**

**Anyway, review on the good, the bad and the myeh!**

**Bye Bi!**


	28. Chapter 28: The 13th Day: Death Note

_**VERY Important Note:**_

**Please do _NOT _start reading here. This Chapter contains some very strong and important information regarding the story and  
its progression, continuing to read this installment without having read the chapters before this will give you a  
painfully large spoiler. Although, said spoiler shall only affect you if you decide to read the rest of this story because you like it. Regardless, I  
can't be too careful with spoilers :3 And yes, this shall be my generic spoiler warning from now on ^_^**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Today, I have a very special message to give out. You ready for it? Are you sure? Aaaabsolutely sure!? W'okey, here's goes nothing:  
Happy Birthday Ashe! ^_^**

**Although it's a tad late, I hope you had a great day and wish you all the best! I really can't give much, but I hope this and my  
never-ending support will suffice! ^_^ To celebrate, take a bite outta the computerized text below. but be careful to chew, those italics can really  
get stuck in your throat... XD**

* * *

**Reminder:**

**Corpus' normal thoughts are in **normal text**. They don't affect anyone or anything in the story, it's simply a narrative.**

**His inner thoughts are written in **_Italics_**. These are addressed to himself and will affect and influence himself and others in the story.**

**His sub-conscious thoughts are written in **_(Bracketed italics)_**. These are similar to his inner thoughts but not entirely the same. They are his sub-conscious mind making remarks about his actions and thoughts. Sorta like a character that lives in his head.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

I'm stood here, staring at him. The pony who's been labelled as a murderer. Next to him shrouded in his red aura is a piece of paper with a pen at the ready. And above him, a jet-black Pegasus with a bucking ugly face.

_There's no doubt about it, he's the murderer. His weapon? That scrap of a notebook floating at his side._

The anger dwelling inside of me is rising to new heights, exceeding what I would assume to be its boundaries. Why...?

_ Because he planned on killing two of my friends. As soon as he knows someone's name and face, he can kill them whenever he wants and however he wants. Thus is the power of the Death Note. I think my stunt with the window halted Applejack from giving her name. And guessing from his language, he hadn't just asked Big Mac for his._

I pay attention to the pain writhing around in my injured wrist,

_Although that cost me any immediate physical action, I should have ensured my friends' survival by his hand._

As we prolonged intense eye contact, his smile only seemed to slightly alter, and his eyes seemed to grow a little more gentle. Only to become as sharp as razors the next instance, broadly displaying the true evil in his heart. No doubt my own eyes were like that once; fueled by the thought of killing nonchalantly, 'exterminating' the 'pests' that ran across our planet. It makes me sick.

_(As you can see, the situation seems pretty bad. And it seems AJ has a few questions for you.)_

Taking notice of what Ly had said, I began to feel AJ's hoof on my shoulder as she lightly tried to grasp my attention, a mixture of a peeved and a relieved expression dawning on her face.

_I don't care. I can answer those later. But him... I need to deal with first._

Tracing my eyes back to the Unicorn, he finally opened his mouth. A warm, almost egotistical tone escaping from within.

"Good. I see you understand where you and I stand here. So I'll make it brief," His grin grew more sinister, and his eyes hardened into a thick scarlet hue, "Hand over the Death Note, and your name. If you do not, then I'll kill off your friends one-by-one."

_! Wh- what!? Damnit! Don't tell me..._

My challenged faltered for a moment, fear striking across my face at his words.

_Did he get AJ's name before I came down!? No... that's not possible. I jumped as soon as he asked, she had no time to reply!_

Recovering myself, I fix the crack in my stare and strengthen my resolve.

_Which means-!_

"I'll repeat myself once more," His face turned from being dastardly and coy, to corrupt and nearing pissed off, "Give me my Death Note, or your friends will die."

_Heh, no chance, idiot._

_(Wait Corpus! Don'-!)_

"I know you're bluffing." His eyelids flickered by a couple of millimeters, I caught him off guard with that comment, no matter how much he tries to hide it. "I broke through that window and grabbed everyone's attention a second after you asked your question, so the mare next to me didn't have time to answer."

"..." The Unicorn stared me down, soon surrendering the contact and giving a smile as he closed his eyes. "Okay, I guess you win... Oh, better not forget," He applied the pen's tip to the paper, piquing my curiosity, "Next week... meet Big Macin-"

_Shit! He isn't bluffing!_

"Stop!" I hold my hoof out, a desperate plea flying from me to him. But with that sudden deterioration of my mental defenses, I lost the complete focus I had fixated on him, allowing all of the visible and audible distractions around me to get into my head.

"Would somepony please tell me what tha hay's goin' on!?"

In my distracted state, I involuntarily look to my side to see a rather pissed off Applejack shooting glares at me and the murderer in front of us.

"You!" She aims her hoof at the unicorn, directing her hardly subtle anger toward him. "What's yer real name? What're ya'll doin' on mah farm?"

"I don't see any reason to answer your questions. You're simply a bargaining chip to me, nothing else."

As shock flashed over her face, AJ retreated her head and posed an even angrier voice. "Wha- A bargainin' ch-!?"

"The Death Note, now." He brought me back into his vision as he expelled Applejack from further conversation.

"Don' you-!"

"Ap-!" Hearing me begin to speak her name, Applejack turned to me, still looking annoyed.

_Crap, can't say her name!_

"A-AJ. Don't pursue this further. This is between me and him, I don't want you getting mixed up in this."

A brief aura of understanding flowed from her, only to be immediately covered by an objection. "But Ah-"

"What in Equestria is going on he- Corpus!? You shouldn't be up!" I turn my head, seeing Dr. Nusbaum approaching me, completely astounded. "Your horn's back! F-furthermore, you shouldn't be out of bed!" He turned his attention to the mare next to me. "Apple-"

"FAAAAAHCHYO!"

_Jeez, that was too close..._

Startled, both Nusbaum and Applejack turn to look at me.

"Corpus, what are you-"

I aimed a hoof at him. "Don't say anyone's name!"

"Wha-"

"Just, trust me. Saying anyone's name won't end well!"

"What's goin' on out here!? Who's smashing glass!?"

_Oh no..._

Following the voice, an elderly, green pony walked out of the house's rear entrance, Applebloom accompanying her.

"Applej-"

"FAAAAAHCHYO!"

_Saying that is pissing me off._

"What're ya-"

"No-one speak! All of you just stand there and be quiet! No saying names, no asking questions, okay!? I'll tell you all what's happening later, just don't make any noises... okay...?"

Silenced by my unexpected retort, the ponies surrounding me simply gave a nod and kept their mouths shut.

The Unicorn exhumed a fairly loud breath, his eyes narrowing. "You're beginning to push your luck. You have ten seconds to hand over the Death Note, else your friend dies. Ten."

My left leg started to quiver, uncertainty and fear nestling in.

"Nine."

My throat started to dry itself out, stress adding on to the already existent mental ailments.

_Shit, what do I do!? I don't have it! Do I tell him?_

"Eight. Seven."

_Crap! How'll he react!? I don't know!_

"Six. Fi-"

"I... don't have it with me." A mucous-y lump of fear began to churn in my chest, and I could feel my heart pounding away with greater force than necessary.

He paused, looking at me un-amused. "Are you telling me you broke our agreement...?"

_Wait, what?_

"What agreement?" Though I returned some fervor to my voice, I'm still too afraid to move from this place. I don't know what he'll do if he thinks I'm trying to aggravate him...

_(Listen, I'm going to need you to do exactly as I say for the next few minutes. I'll explain everything as we go along, so I promise you won't be in the dark by the end of it.)_

_W-where did that come from?_

"..." The pony's peeved glare evolved into a conniving grin, as if he had thought of a fun procedure to engage in. "Alright, I can wait a bit. After all, it's not my friend that's dying." The pen landed upon the paper and began scribbling away.

_(Quick! Tell him you have it!)_

Following Ly's instruction, I immediately lied. "W-Wait! I do have it! Just stop writing!"

_(Now open up your left wing.)_

What Ly's asking me to do isn't making any sense, this won't help at all! Regardless, I unfurled my wing and... the... Death Note fell out!?

"Hm. Now stand still while I collect it. Any movement, and I'll finish what I started." Finishing his sentence, both his horn and the Death Note shone with the same red glow, the Note making its way to his face immediately afterward.

_(Phew, that was close...)_

_What was close!? How did the Death Note get under my wing!? I thought I left it at Fluttershy's place!_

Opening the Note to its first few pages, the pony started reading through it whilst making sure he was aware of any movements I made.

_(You did. I left last night and retrieved it from her place while you slept. I don't know how or why, but I can manifest myself into a physical form and leave your body... at the cost of your horn.)_

_My hor-!_

Stricken with worry, I rushed my hooves to my fore-head and searched around for my horn, finding it as soon as my hoof came close to my head.

_(It returned as soon as I re-united with you, so I assume that it'll still work.)_

_W-why're you just telling me this!? This could push the hold he has over me even further!_

The Unicorn closed the Note and looked back to me... smiling.

_(...He has no hold over you.)_

"You know, you're dumber than I thought you were." He moved the Death Note to his side and re-opened it, the pen gliding straight to its surface. "You're going to give me the name of everyone here, including yourself. Failure to do so shall result in Big Macintosh here dying."

"Wha-"

As I was about to speak, everyone around me burst into a huge uproar at the pony's threat, throwing out the first few syllables of what they had to say before I turned around.

"Shut up! All of you!" At my sharp order, all noise produced by them shrank into nothingness. Leaving just their blank faces to look taken by me. "I need to think, and your noise isn't helping!"

Feeling frustration leaving me through words, I turn my head back to the Death Note user in front of me.

_Crap, this isn't good... If I refuse to tell him, then Big Mac'll die. But if I tell him everyone else's names, then he may end up killing us all! Argh!_

An evilly arrogant smile bent the pony's lips, his scarlet eyes falling upon me almost pitifully. "I'll give you one minute to make up your mind. But as soon as that minute's up, you're getting no more chances. Your friend will die."

Feeling trapped like a rat, I recall back what Ly had said earlier. Using that one lead as a final lifeline to grab onto.

_...You said he had no hold over me. What did you mean exactly?_

_(I meant what I said, you're the one in charge here. He's cornered, and is holding on desperately to the one thing that gives him any chance to escape from this. There's almost no way you can lose.)_

_How!? He's holding everyone here hostage! How the hell can I beat him when I've got no power!?_

_(HE has no power. Listen, what's the situation?)_

_He's holding everyone hostage! He knows Big Mac's name and possesses the Death Note! There's no way to beat him here!_

_(You've just given yourself the answer.)_

_Wha-_

_(The only hostage he has is Big Mac. Everyone else will be completely unaffected by the Death Note. This guy's no idiot, so he knows this as well.)_

_Even so, he'll kill Big Mac if I don't give him everyone else's names!_

_(Yeah, he probably will. But only as a bluff.)_

_A-...a bluff? the hell kinda bluff is that!?_

_(A bluff used in a conflict over a Death God's notebook.)_

I'm not sure how much time has gone by, but I should really wrap this up quickly. If I don't give him answers, then-...

_(What will he do after killing Big Mac? What can he do?)_

_He'll... he'll..._

Ly's right... there's nothing he can do...

_(Big Mac's death will be the equivalent to a cat puffing up its fur to look bigger. He'll be demonstrating his power and will to kill you all without hesitation, but only to throw your mind into disarray. This type of tactic is only used by those whom prefer to play with their prey, or those who have only deceit and bluffs to survive on. Fortunately, I can tell you that the former has a zero percent chance of existing.)_

_So... he's trying to distract me from the position he's in...?_

_(Exactly so, yes. But I wouldn't challenge him, otherwise he'll still kill Big Mac. So instead, I propose that we take a different approach...)_

Ly spoke softly yet profoundly, giving details of a plan he had, just this moment, thought up. It's... amazing... It's almost flawless, despite being made in such a small window of time. Is he really my sub-conscious...?

_(We only have one chance with this, and only a second to react with every action. So if we don't get this right, our victory will come with the loss of Big Mac. Are you ready?)_

_More so than I thought I'd be._

_(Good, then-)_

"Your minute's up, have you decided?"

_(Let's go...)_

"Yeah, I have..." I take a bold step toward him, giving him a glare as hard as my new-found resolve. "I'm not giving you anyone's names."

A smile befell the pony's face, something that shouldn't exist when one's about to kill another. "Oh? Then maybe Big Macintosh can tell me? After all, that's what I've written for him to do before he dies." With a final shimmer of those ruby beasts, the pen scratched the God-forsaken parchment's surface.

_(Now!)_

My eyes flashed with intense focus, a strong orange aura engulfing my horn and the magic surrounding the Death Note.

Once my aura had enshrouded the Note's surface, the Unicorn's pen slipped up and off the parchment. The transparent sunset-glow preventing any contact between the two.

"Tch! Don't try it!" Fully aware of my intentions, the pony intensified the power in his own magic, enlarging it by several times its previous size and, as expected, dissipating my own magic surrounding it.

But, a flash of an identical colour illuminated the area in front of the murderer, a confused Big Macintosh appearing in front of him.

"Big Mac! Buck him, now!"

Hearing me shout out from behind him, Big Mac turned his head and readily understood, briskly turning his body and priming a strike. In response to the sudden shift in action, the murderer tried to back away from the large farm-pony. But only to still lie in the wake of the twin red columns that struck into his chest, sending him flying a couple of meters where his momentum was only halted by a single tree that his back collided with.

Softly returning his hooves to the dirt beneath him, Big Mac kept a watchful eye on the stationary Unicorn.

"Thanks Big Mac, I'll handle it from here." I walked past him, offering an appreciative nod as I glanced back.

"Eeyup." Though I suspect that there's still a lot of anger whirring through him, he still seems to give the near stoic replies as always.

With his final remark, I coat the Work horse in my aura before sending him to the others, inside of the barn. I had sent them all there once the murderer was distracted with Big Mac's sudden appearance, as to keep them from any potential harm in case Big Mac hadn't reacted in time.

_(Now to just take his Death Note. After that, we call the authorities and have him arrested.)_

I approached the bloody and unconscious pony, grabbing the Death Note with my magic.

_(I'm afraid this is check-mate, Li-!)_

Without either me or Ly expecting it, a light brown hoof shot onto my chest. Although it caused no harm, it made me instinctively jump back from my standing point.

"Not... yet...!"

Breathing heavily, the pony stood back onto all of his legs. All the while, I felt powerless to move. He had blood running from his head and mouth, both caused by the impact of both the buck and his collision with the tree, and a mark on the breast of his jacket showing from the buck as well. How the hell is he conscious after a hit like that!?

"I won't lose!" With a trickle of liquid as crimson as his eyes dripping down his face, the pony grasps the pen with his aura and writes in the Note once again.

"Shit!" I rush towards him. My magic will be useless is he's using his, so getting there physically is my only option. After a travel time of just a mere two seconds, I thrust my horn into one of his shoulders and knock him onto his back, allowing him room as he clings to the hole in pain. I take the Note for myself, glancing at the recent writing inside of it... words failing to describe how I was feeling at that point in time. "...No... it... can't be..."

**Big Macintosh will shout out the names of everyone on the farm.**

_He finished it... he must've written the latter part earlier, filling in the name just now..._

A slug to my chest smashes me out of my trance, knocking the Death Note loose from my grip all the while. I look forward, seeing that murderer holding the Death Note with a great anger stirring in his eyes. It felt like something inside of me snapped, a repressed limit holding me back from killing him. It snapped. Broke. Indescribable fury seeped into my mind as I gritted my teeth. This monster had just killed my friend. I want to kill him. I want him dead.

_I want to rip out his throat. I want to murder him!_

I lunge at him, the full intent to kill surfacing from its depths within me.

_(C-calm down! you'll only just-!)_

I stopped in my tracks, much like Ly did with his speaking. The pony was stood there, a level of fear transcending anything I've ever seen before painted across his face. His chest was rising and falling slowly, each individual breath could be heard pathetically crawling out of his mouth. There's a claw around his neck. A pitch black claw, linked to an arm stemming from the black Pegasus behind him.

"Since I don't have my Death Note on me, I guess I'll just have to resort to a more physical method."

The pony turned his head slowly, looking Ryuk fearfully in the eye. "Wha..."

"I already told you, didn't I? I said that I would be the one to kill you in the end. This is where your life ends. If I don't kill you, then this pony here will."

Un...believable... That's what this is... A scary presence seeping out of the God of Death threatening to kill the murderer where he stands... and, isn't that what he said to me not long after we met? That he'd kill me himself in the end...?

"I...I'm supposed to... die here...?" His eyes had reverted back from red to brown, quivering as he did at this circumstance before him.

"Yes. It was fun, Light Yagami."

**Ba-bump...**

Light... Yagami...?

**Ba-bump...**

That's... that's my name...

**Ba-bump... Ba-bump...**

I remember now, my name and everyone else's!

**Ba-bump... Ba-bump... Ba-bump...**

My name, the Death Note, Kira, L, Near, Everything! I remember it!

**Ba-bump Ba-bump Ba-bump Ba-bump**

Why did Ryuk call him Light? I'm Light! I'm-!

"Give me the eyes!"

My thought process is shattered by 'Light's' voice. I return attention to him to see him with the claw almost squeezing his throat.

"If I'm to die here, then I'm taking _him_ with me!" His red eyes, yet again, shift to me, wishing me death.

Silenced, Ryuk just stares at 'Light' for a few moments longer, an awfully deranged laugh erupting from him as he loosened his grip on the pony.

"So you're turning in your last remaining seconds for the eyes of a Death God? That's brilliant! You humans' sense of revenge is... interesting!" His smile grew into a strange aberration, razor-sharp teeth coming to a bearing. "All right then! I bestow upon you the eyes of a Death God, use them as you please."

Ryuk's eyes lit up a menacing crimson, an awful gift of power taking place.

* * *

_**08:14 P.M. **Celestia's Castle, 3rd Floor, Balcony..._

The dark Princess' eyes shot wide open, a shock running through her body and through those of the other ponies present.

"P-Princess, was that-?"

"Yes, it was." Her eyelids lowered to her pupils, an expression suited for seriousness crafted onto her sharp face. "Thritcher, send for Shining Armour, my sister and her Guard! Tell them to head to Ponyville! The disturbance there is undoubtedly not from our world!"

"A-a-at once, your Majesty!" Now under his first fatal mission, the guard quickly turned and left the balcony's surface, rushing to the Royal Bedrooms to awaken the sleeping team.

_We have to hurry, we don't know what'll happen if anypony else makes contact with that human first. I wouldn't even like to-!_

A second shock ran through her body, startling her to no ends.

"A... a second human?" She turned to her remaining Guard, Twilight and Cadence, aiming a hoof at them with the utmost urgency. "You six, head onto Sweet Apple Acres immediately! A second human is there, a similar disturbance has rung out from there!"

"But Princess, what about the spell?" Twilight took a couple of steps forward, raising her concern for her superior's well-being.

"Nevermind me, we must find that human before anypony else, otherwise the worst may happen..."

"I... I understand..." Burying her worry for the Princess behind his current objective, she walks past her and calls up the guard. "Come on, we've got to hurry and get to Sweet Apple Acres!"

Followed by a weak rally, the five Unicorns and single Alicorn swiftly depart from the balcony, leaving Luna to stand there on her own.

_...Two humans appeared in such a short space of time? I don't like the odds of that happening..._

Staring off into the hallway a moment longer, she shakes her head and turns around.

"I should wait here and keep a watch out for my subjects, I can't do nothing in this situation."

As she stared off into the sun, another, but much stronger, shock raves through her, making her entire being quiver.

"Wh-what!? A third human!? What's happening!?" She turns about and looks within her immediate vicinity, seeing no other ponies to send out after the new energy abnormality. "...I'll have to go to this one myself, there's no-one else I can call upon. But," She glances nervously at the sun, "No-one can watch over the spell whilst I'm gone, what should I do?"

"Go to Sweet Apple Acres with Twilight and Cadence, I'll watch over the spell for a few minutes."

Hearing that warm, comforting tone, Luna turns about to become greeted by her sister.

"Big sister! But, what'll we do about the third human?"

"I'll attend to that one personally, you go ahead and catch up with your group. I've been resting the past few hours, so I'll be able to hold this on my own longer than you can."

"O-okay, I guess I'll head off now then."

Presenting her younger sister with a nod, Celestia maintains a warm smile. Responded to said nod, Luna races off the balcony to cover ground between her and her group.

Seeing the younger Princess leave, Celestia turns to face the bright morning sun, allowing it to assist her face in radiating natural beauty.

"Three humans appearing one after the other? I think I may take a liking to the upcoming chain of events..." On her pure face, a seductively sly smile arises.

* * *

_**08:14 P.M. **S.A.A, Western Field..._

'Light's' eyes took on the same dastardly glow that Ryuk's had, his stare coming onto me. Suddenly, a maniacal laugh exploded from within him, the picture of insanity drawn on his face.

"Yes, I can see it! Your true name! You're not Corpus, you're someone else!" Two lumps appeared under his clothing, two light brown wings bursting forth the next instance.

_Wha- What!? He's like that too!?_

_(I guess... all humans are like that?)_

Grabbing the Note back, he re-applies the pen to it. "Prepare to die, scum!"

The pen etched its existence into the Notebook with an uncanny fervor. For most, this would be exceptionally scary. But,

"I'm afraid I won't die. Death Note users can't be killed by the Death Note if it's being used by another human. Only Gods of Death that have come to the human world without the intention of killing that person can kill them with a Death Note."

"Well that'll work just fine, because you've never used a Death Note!"

I furrowed my brow, feeling almost disappointed with him. "I have used the Death Note. Every name in there-"

_(Was written by him.)_

_...What do you mean?_

_(He's the only person who's ever written in that Death Note. You've never killed a person with it.)_

_Wait, then he can-!_

"See ya, 'Corpus'." He laid his pen to rest, a satisfied look dawning on his face. The look of a man whom had accomplished his final wish before death.

But the same can't be said for me. I froze up, a pain brewing inside my chest. As time went by, it only grew fiercer and began to rip through my heart. Just about 40 seconds had passed, and it hurt... a lot...

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Over a minute... that's how much time has passed... and I'm still alive? Maybe he set the time for another day? Another hour?

"Wha-what...? How're you still alive!? The Death Note's never failed to work on anyone before!" I look up to my damnator, observing him more pissed off than ever "Why aren't you **dead**!?"

_(Corpus, repeat everything I say aloud.)_

_H-huh?_

What's going on? I'm confused...

_(You didn't imagine my face as you wrote my name in the Note.)_

"...You didn't imagine my face as you wrote in the Note."

"...What...?" He gritted his teeth, an unbearable anger arising inside of him. "I did imagine your face! How the hell couldn't I if you're right there!?"

_(This isn't my real face. I'm a human, therefore the face needed to kill me would be a human one, not a pony one.)_

"This isn't my _real _face. I'm a human, therefore the face needed to kill me would be a human one, not a pony one."

"The hell kinda crap are you spewing!? Just, die!" Infuriated and humiliated, Light threw the pen back onto the paper and started writing my name again, and again.

I'm not gonna lie, I was crapping myself all the while. I thought he was really going to kill me with one of those, but 40 seconds passed and I was still standing, so it's safe to say that Ly was right.

"Why...? Why won't you die...!?" He threw himself onto the floor, thumping his hoof against it as the Note and pen fell from him.

Meanwhile, the black Pegasus wheezed out a series of laughs, his face somehow not changing.

"The hell are you laughing at Ryuk...? You lost this too! You can't return to the Shinigami Realm!"

The Death God continued to laugh, "He got ya. He had this entire thing planned out from the beginning. He trapped you and left you with nowhere to hide. I had fun watching you fall, but that's not why I'm laughing. I'm laughing, because your natural lifespan had increased."

Both I and Light looked to him in surprise,

_Wait, doesn't the Eye Deal half your life? How did his increase!?_

"I'm guessing that it's because Smarty over here didn't kill you because you made the deal. Lucky you."

"...Wait, how much did it increase by...?"

"Eh, a couple thousand years. But that's only half of what it would be without the eyes. Although, I suppose you'd be dead without them." He released yet another horrid laugh.

"...Then I guess I'll... give up."

I return my vision to Light, seeing him laying on the floor still looking at Ryuk.

"I'm not going to win here, so I may as well quit. But don't get me wrong," He turned his head to me, those piercing blood-like irises staring into me, "I have over a thousand years to see you perish, and I shall be the one to bring it about."

"Over there! I see somepony!" Unfamiliar voices called from among the trees, gradually getting closer.

"I _will _kill you, and I _will_ return to Earth. I shall become a God, and bring justice upon you."

"Wait, that's him! He's the murderer! Catch him!" Out of seemingly nowhere, an evil looking Unicorn launched out from within the trees and pinned Light down, followed by two others whom lifted Light up with their magic, keeping him locked in a cage of un-breaking will.

"I will judge you, Jake."

_Jake...? Is that my name?_

_(Could be, but then again, we thought Ly, or rather, 'Light' was your name. We'll stick to any alias you want until we find it.)_

_Y-yeah... I suppose you're right..._

But still, if the Death God eyes say my name's 'Jake', then it must be so. But why aren't I remembering anything? Why aren't any memories surfacing...?

With his final farewell, the Unicorns dragged him out of sight.

We took one casualty, but that battle's finally over.

Well, for now, at least...

* * *

**Okey dokey, first things first: The next two or so chapters _will _answer most, if not all, questions that you got from this chapter. I purposely left  
it 'incomplete' as to not ruin the flow by continuously switching viewpoints and time slots within mere lines of each other.**

**And I think you'll like your answers :3**

**Anyway, review on the good, the bad, and the myeh!**

**Until next time,**

**Bye bi!**


	29. Chapter 29: An Unlikely Duo

**_VERY Important Note:_**

**Please do _NOT _start reading here. This Chapter contains some very strong and important information regarding the story and  
its progression, continuing to read this installment without having read the chapters before this will give you a  
painfully large spoiler. Although, said spoiler shall only affect you if you decide to read the rest of this story because you like it. Regardless, I  
can't be too careful with spoilers :3 And yes, this shall be my generic spoiler warning from now on :3**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Holy crap, it's been a month already... O_O**

**Anyway, here's not what I promised ya! A chapter that only raises more questions! I was intending to make this one about 10-11K words long, but  
then I realized that I would need at least 17000 words to cover absolutely everything I needed to, so instead I split this chapter into  
two parts: One of which progresses with the story a tad, and the other answers roughly a third of the questions you're  
asking. So without (much) ****further ado, I present to you chapter 29! ^_^****  
**

**Oh, and this shall also be one of the only chapters that is told through another character's Point of View, so that makes it extra special!**

**#Enjoy! (Heh... hash-tag...)**

* * *

**_08:16 A.M. _**_S.A.A, Western Field..._

"Wait, that's him! He's the murderer! Catch him!"

Someone from behind jumped onto me and pinned me down. Then a few others showed up in the few seconds that I was held down for. Once they had arrived, the person on top of me released me and a strange force surrounded my body and lifted me off the ground, preventing any movement whatsoever. Looking back up to Jake, I can only think of one more thing to say before my arrest...

"I will judge you, Jake."

Before I could utter another word, one of the armored men behind me ordered me to be silent. Following that, the same force encapsulating my body held my mouth shut. No matter the intensity of my attempts, only slurred murmurs could now escape my throat. But that aside, I could feel anger whirling around inside of me. Anger that's making me thirst for blood.

_I truly despise you, Jake. That's three times you've made a mockery of me now. Me! The fated God of the New World! I've defeated the ICPO, the Japanese police, I was even on the verge of killing L! ...But **you**..._

"Thank you Corpus, you've done us a great favor in apprehending him."

_I couldn't even touch you! No-one's outside of God's grasp, no-one can stand up to my power! ...Yet, you managed to plan this all out... _

"Ah, don't thank me... really. I was more concerned with keeping him from killing everyone else."

"Still, you have our gratitude. We'll be sure to send for you your reward soon enough."

_Forcing me into a corner and leaving me with nothing to do but submit defeat has only renewed my hatred for you. Actually, this encounter has only made it easier to kill you..._

"I-I don't really need a reward... It would be nice to get one, but I don't really think I deserve it."

_Now I know who you are, what you're like, and who you hold dear. Not only that, but I've now confirmed the suspicions I've had for a while..._

"Is that so? Well if that's what you want, then I suppose we'll be taking our leave. We need to make sure that we lock him up before he kills anyone else."

_L-lock me up...!? ...Yes... they'll lock me away in prison as a criminal... But when I get out, I... I'll kill you!_

Slight insanity glittered through my eyes as my mouth twitched.

_I'll drag you down from where you stand, and stop your heart by any means necessary! Even if it means with my own hands! I'll make sure the world is watching for your death! As God, I will command it! Everyone shall watch as your body turns lifeless! They'll all know that_ _**I** am God, and that no-one can stand against me!_

I stared at him, anger overflowing from my soul at the sight of him. Suddenly, I was twisted round and met with the stoic expressions of the ones keeping me in contempt.

_...Rrgh... calm down Light... There's no need to get so worked up. You'll just have to wait until your chance arrives. Besides, I'll only be kept in contempt for a while. There's no way they can execute me, I've done almost nothing to be executed for. The one pony I did kill has been moved somewhere else. Besides, they only have the speculation that I killed him to go on, if they even have that. I'll most likely be kept in custody for a short while before being released due to a lack of evidence. Besides, even if they were to lock me up, as long as I have the Death note scrap in my shirt it should be all too easy to break out._

"Yeah... Oh! that reminds me! There's a scrap of paper in his chest pocket. It belongs to this Note book here, the tool he used to murder other ponies."

_! Damnit! ...No... I should have expected this. He wouldn't have planned all of this out and still let me leave with my Notebook._

"...I find that rather hard to believe. How could a book kill ponies?"

"It's a book that comes from a separate world. Inside of it are written some of the rules it follows. The most prominent one being 'The... person whose name is written in this Note shall die'. In addition to this rule, it's possible to determine the time, place, and cause of death of anyone written in it. But if a cause isn't written, then a heart attack shall kill them at the designated time, if any. In the circumstance that a time isn't specified, then they'll simply die 40 seconds after their name was written."

"...And you're sure this is all true...?"

"Absolutely."

_...Actually, it doesn't matter if they know about the Note. In the month that I've been here, I've learnt that there's no-one who'd want to risk killing anyone else. They'll never be able to prove the Note's real unless they test it, which would result in them becoming a murderer as well. Too bad for you, 'Corpus'. Looks like I'll be walking away from all of this, and free to hunt you down after reclaiming my Note._

A small grin grew on my face, the chance of victory I still have making me feel... satisfied.

"...I'll take your word on it, we'll incarcerate him now and ensure that he doesn't escape anytime soon."

_W-what!?_

The grin quickly faded as I caught their conversation behind me.

_T-they can't! They don't have the necessary evidence to lock me up! They-! ...Is it possible that the law system here is different...? Did he anticipate this...? No... no I'm over-thinking this. This is all coincidence. If he knew about the Death Note then he had to be a human like myself, so he shouldn't already know of the laws here. The only thing he had planned was taking my Notebook, nothing else._

The armored guard in front of me opened my shirt pocket with his magic, taking it into his custody shortly afterward.

"Take him back to Canterlot Castle, we'll have him put into the dungeons there until me and my sister decide what to do with him."

"Understood, your highness."

Now I'm being pulled, the guards in front of me turning around and dragging me behind with them. Thinking about it, it would be logical to assume that they're using magic to stop me from moving or talking. This is going to be a long delay from my plans...

"Hey, Light. Wanna know what I think?"

_Wha-? Ryuk!_

Surprised to hear his voice, I direct my eyes to the Shinigami flying by my side.

"Oh yeah, you can't talk can you? Well I'll tell you anyway. I think that I'm going to kill you now."

_W-what!? No! You can't!_

"You see, I don't know how long you're gonna be locked up for, and I really can't be bothered to sit around twiddling my thumbs for that long. The past few months have been fun, we managed to kill each others boredom for a while."

_No! Ryuk, you can't kill me! If you kill me then crime won't stop! The world will keep degenerating! I'm the only one who can stop it! I'm the only one fit to be God!_

"Y'know, I wanted to kill you with my Death Note, like I promised. But I suppose my bare hands will do." His hoof morphed into the same form it took earlier, something resembling his original hand.

_N-no, wait!_

"Goodbye, Light Yagami."

His hand flew at me, on a direct course for my neck. Panicking, I direct my eyes to a guard in front of me and murmur.

"Mmm Myug! Mmm mm mm mmph?"

_Come on Ryuk, get the hint!_

Ryuk's hand stopped just short of my neck, his claws practically about to pierce the skin. "...Huh? What're you trying to say?"

_Yes! He stopped. Now just to try and convey my message._

I direct my eyes back at him and then to the horse in front of me. "Mmm. Mm mm mmph!"

"Stop making that noise, we're not going to let you go!" The guard turned his head slightly as he shouted.

"...Oh! I see what you're getting at. You want me to kill the guards so you can escape."

_That's not what I was getting at, and I would prefer it if they stayed alive. I'll need them to think that I'm completely helpless if I want any chance at avoiding death and exacting my revenge. But just to make sure..._

Putting all of my strength into my neck, I manage to turn it to my left and then to my right, making a very weak and stuttered denial.

"No? Then what do you want?"

I dart my eyes back to the guards, muttering again but with gaps between each word.

"Mmm, mmm, mmu, mmi!"

"I said quiet!"

The magic around me tightened as the guard shouted, draining some of my physical strength as the pain seeped in.

"Mmm mmm... you see...?"

_Good, he understood the last part. Now he just needs to realize._

"...I see ponies. What's your point? ...Ah! I'm stuck in this world with the ponies!"

He flung his arms to his head as he looked about exasperated.

_Finally, you understand why I can't be killed yet._

Staying still for a few seconds, Ryuk lowered his arms and chuckled.

"Is that what you wanted me to say?"

_What?_

"I know that I'm stuck here. I also know that there might be someone in this world who knows how to get me back to our world. Whether you die or not, I don't really care. I can simply reclaim the Death Note and give it the person who can send me back."

_Damnit Ryuk! You can't kill me yet! I have another two thousand years to live! If you kill me now, then the human world will be doomed to rot without a God! It'll fall with no-one to repair it!_

"But... I might consider letting you live, if you promise to escape quickly and keep me entertained."

_...Ryuk... you really know how to get under my skin at times... It's aggravating beyond belief..._

"So what do you say? Will you break out of prison and kill my boredom for a bit longer? I'll give you a month, so that should be enough time to escape."

_A month isn't that long Ryuk, especially if you're planning a jailbreak. But, I don't suppose I have a choice..._

Using as much strength as I can muster, I give Ryuk a slow and delayed nod. Shortly afterward, he burst into a small hysteria of laughter.

"Hhhya hahahaha! It truly is entertaining, how you humans value your lives so much. All right, I'll let you live for a while longer. But just remember, one month's all your gonna get."

_I know, Ryuk. And don't worry, I will get out of jail in that month. Then I can kill Jake and find a way back to our world, where I can pick up where I left off, and re-introduce the world to Kira..._

* * *

_**10:46 A.M. **Castle District, Canterlot..._

I think it's been roughly three hours since my arrest. Before we left, we had to wait around for a few minutes. Something about one of the people who were arresting me wanting to see 'Corpus' before leaving again. Afterward, they decided to book out a train for my transferal, most likely for some safety reason or another. And once our train journey had ended, we got off at, what I would assume to be, the capital of this country. Only there were an endless line of guards surrounding us on both sides as we progressed further into town. One of the guards must have tipped of the authorities to bolster their forces in the city. And right now, I'm being dragged toward a large Castle-like structure. If I had to guess, I'd say the prison is most likely on a lower level in this place.

We've now passed through the Castle's front doors, which also had guards lining them. I noticed a couple of the armored ones pulling me salute some of the guards at the door, so it would be safe to assume that there are some friendly relations between both the Gold plated guards and the Black-Gold plated ones. There might be a chance that I could use that information in my escape...

Minutes swiftly passed like seconds and we had reached a room resembling a medieval dungeon. Along the way here, a few of the pairs of footsteps that were following us split off from us at the Castle's foyer. They were most likely the highest ranking members among the guards that caught me.

"Alright, in there with you!"

I was thrown into the cell, the force concealing my speech and movements leaving my body as I flew. And by the time I looked back up to the guards, they had closed the cell door and were making their way to the exit.

Standing myself up, I walk over to one of the cell's walls and rest against it.

_Ryuk's given me one month to break out of here..._

I open my eyes and shift them around the room, taking in any details I find important.

_There only seems to be one guard making a regular patrol by the cells. In addition, there're forty-eight cells in total down here. I can only confirm that three of them have any prisoners though; mine, the one opposite, and the cell to it's left. Looking about my cell, it seems that it's made to incarcerate two people at a time. Judging from the fact that I'm the only one in here, I'd say that they're keeping my from the other prisoners to prevent anything from happening. _

Whilst inspecting my cell, the large door to the prison closes, making a loud 'thud' ring through the hollow room. I look back to where the noise had originally sounded from.

_And there were two guards standing watch by the large doors that just closed. It would be worth finding out if there were any other entrances to this place, and how guarded each of them are._

"You." I direct my attention to a pony in the cell opposite.

"Me?" He looks back at me as he raises a hoof to himself.

"How many entrances are there to this prison?"

"Heh, planning on breaking out? Well give up. The only entrance is the one you just came through, and it's watched constantly by guards. Not to mention the magic seal it has placed on it."

"Magic seal?"

"What are you, an idiot?"

_This guy... I'm definitely killing him once I retrieve my Notebook..._

"A magic seal's what the Princess uses to keep things in and other things out. The only way to get through it is by busting it up. Wait, you're a unicorn! How the hay can a unicorn not know what a seal is!? Reeetard!"

"Hey! Quiet down there!" A guard shouted down at us from along the hallway. Good timing too, I'm quickly losing my nerve to this guy.

The pony looked at the guard for a moment before turning back to me, speaking normally as he should've been from the start. "I've seen several of your type try to get out of here, but every one of them just ended up getting caught and being presented with a worse sentence. If you've got any sense to you you'll stay put and take any punishment they give you."

"..."

_What nonsense, being lectured by a mere criminal. If I had the Death Note on me, it'd be all too easy to kill everyone here and escape. Actually, that's right... I don't have my Note on me..._

"...I've been able to escape a situation like this before because I cleared almost all doubt that I was Kira. But that took over 50 days, and I specifically was under close observation. In a place like this, I'm not going to be able to escape by simply abandoning ownership of the Death Note. Not to mention that no allegations of me being Kira are being thrown at me. I'm simply here because they suspect me of killing. But if I don't have the Death Note, then how-?"

"Well lookey here... seems like a lil' bambina's gotten lost."

"Wha- who-?" Surprised by the stranger's voice behind me, I turn around to see someone else in my cell. I can't make out what they look like, but they're facing the floor.

"What're ya'll doin' this side of tha ranch, pardner?" He started to approach me, his features slowly becoming visible in the glow of the prison lights. "Them Busters tame ya before ya could cause any more havoc?"

He's wearing a stetson, similar to the type you'd expect to see in some western movie. He also has a red bandanna wrapped around his neck and an open leather vest on his torso. Does he think he's a Cowboy...?

"Or are ya jes' here ta take in tha sights of this here hoosegow?" He raised his head, looking into my eyes with his dark brown jewels. "Fer yer sake, Ah hope it's tha latter..."

Before I could give an answer, he jumps at me, leaving me with no time to react. Taken off guard by his sudden movement, I wasn't able to put up any form of fight before he had me pinned to the wall by my neck.

_What... the hell...!?_

"Listen, pardner. Ah'm gonna give ya one chance ta answer mah question, and one chance only. An' don' even think of lyin'. Ah can see through a lie easier than an Eagle sees a rattlesnake in a plain desert noon. Now, are ya a criminal?"

_The hell is with this guy!? Does he really expect anyone in here not to be a criminal!? And that forceful attitude, it's... irritating._

With his leg pressing against my throat, my voice escapes croaky and dry. "...Do you really think..." With as much strength as I could muster, I pushed against his leg, giving myself just enough room to speak comfortably and look him in the eye. "That I'm one of these scum!?"

Keeping his stoic stare fixated on my being, he applies more force to his leg and pins me back against the wall as I had been beforehand. "Ah'm tha one askin' questions around here, Bambina. Are ya an outlaw, or a bronco?" He slipped his other hoof behind his back and brought it back up to my chin, a knife of roughly 6 inches now standing by my neck. "An' answer honestly."

_Wha- what the hell's going on? How am I going to escape with this maniac in the same cell as me!? No, before I worry about that, is he... going to kill me?_

"Not talkin'? Oh well, Ah thought ya might have at least given me tha courtesy of answerin' mah question."

_No, I don't die here. Ryuk said that I have another 2000 years left on my natural life-span, which means I should survive this encounter._

"Good bye, nameless outlaw." My assaulter slashed his blade at my neck.

"I'm not a criminal."

Just as quickly as it had moved, his hoof fell to a complete stop with but a trickle of my blood running down the knife's edge.

He stared into my eyes, ignoring my smug grin as he searched around for an answer. Seconds went by, minutes floated past, and he eventually lowered his blade from my neck and tuck it away under his vest.

"Ah can't tell if ya tellin' tha truth or not, if I'm ta be honest, but Ah suspect that there's a bit more to ya than first glance suggests. Who-2

"Now it's your turn." He flinched back, loosening his hold on me enough so that I could push his leg away. "Are you a criminal, or are you innocent?"

"...Heh. So you're tha type who doesn't use up all his kindlin' ta make a fire. So be it," A small grin grew on his face, his eyelids falling halfway over his dark hazel eyes, "Ah'm a bronco, a wild horse. Put in here 'cus me an' tha town Sheriff had different ideals. He did'n like tha fact that Ah killed any outlaws we caught, so he got tha country's bust Busters ta bring me in. Only," He brought his hoof up to face me and left his leg bent in the middle, as if he were holding a gun to me, "Ah'm still the wild mustang Ah was when Ah left, an' no amount of wranglers are gonna change that."

"...I see... Did I hear you right when you said that you killed criminals?"

"That ya did, Bambina. Every last one of 'em."

"And your reason?"

His expression suddenly transformed, turning from placid to serious. "'Cus justice ain't true 'slong as there's still evil runnin' about."

_Interesting... __I think I can use this man quite well. After all, his ideals and mine are scarily similar._

"So tell me, what is justice?"

"Why don' you tell me, Tenderfoot?" He gave me a smile, almost as if he already knew what I was thinking.

Filled with renewed confidence, I cast down a smile of pure, sinister bliss. "To have a world where no evil exists, where those who live honest lives can live in peace as its only inhabitants. A world where no-one has to live in fear, for a God will look over them." My smile extended into a proud and joyful bearing, a mark of aspiration surfacing through my words.

"Well Ah don' no about no God," He lowers his hoof to the ground, and plays another coy smile to me, "But what yer sayin' is pretty much what Ah think. An' tha only way to keep evil from returnin' is ta bury it as it comes. All those who're jes' lockin' 'em up are just barkin' at tha knot."

Suddenly, his face tensed and he looked away to the ground, pulling his hat over his head slightly. "What's a few years to a criminal? They'll just get out again and start committing crimes like it's nothing. Whether it's petty thievery or murder, it's all the same to them..."

_His accent changed. And he sounds... angry. Hm. I assume that he has some deep-seated hatred for criminal for one reason or another. Good, I can play on this when the time arises..._

"Precisely my point. The only way to permanently stop them is to kill them. And eventually, other criminals will start to shrink away and refrain from committing crimes in fear of losing their lives too. it'll create... an ideal world." Again I'm left to speculate about the idea, a liveliness inside of me being rejuvenated every time I imagine eradicating evil forever.

"...Y'know, Ah think Ah'm startin' ta like you pardner." He lifted up his head and flicked his hat back with his hoof, giving a grin much like before. "Tha name's Mustang Marshall. Now what say you an' Ah make a two horse herd of our own? A Vaquero and a Tenderfoot, bustin' tha outlaws of this world usin' nothin' but our lariat and tha golden pellets of six shooter."

"Light Yagami. And I suppose I wouldn't object to cleansing the world. So long as you promise not to spare a single criminal."

_This man is even more impressive than I first thought! Although I have a hunch that he'd rather not use something such as the Death Note, he'd definitely make a fine second Kira, probably even finer than Misa._

"Ah don' plan on lettin' any of 'em go free. Startin' with tha cattle grazin' at these here iron bars." He turned his attention to our fellow prisoners, all of which were unaware of his justice-seeking eyes.

_Reduced from unruly horses to cows, huh? I prefer to refer to them as scum, but, oh well._

"Seeing as how we're starting with the criminals in this room, I assume you already have a plan to escape?"

"Of course Ah do, jes' who do ya think Ah am? Some runnuva mill broke-horse?"

_I can't believe my luck! Not only have I found a very useful tool, but it seems like I can escape and retrieve the Note in just a few days! Just you wait, Jake... It won't be long until I exact my revenge on you._

"Ya'll jes' need ta break open them bars with yer magic and it'll be a home-stretch from there."

I furrowed my brow slightly, something about what he said seeming off...

"What about the magic seal on the door? How are we going to get past that?"

"Huh? Magic seal?" He raised an eyebrow, showing a clear ignorance to this place's security, "Why they got a seal guardin' tha door? Those lil' things can hardly walk, so they ain' gonna catch us."

I could feel the muscles in my face involuntarily flex from his comment. "No, not that type of seal. I'm talking about a barrier, a strong spell used to stop us from leaving."

"...Oh... one of 'em, is it?" Pulling his stetson back over his eyes, the once enthusiastic horse sat down against the wall. "Well Ah'm sorry pardner, looks like we ain' goin' nowhere anytime soon. Not with these hobbles on..."

I look at him in disbelief, how could someone who despises criminals so much just give up like that? "...So what? Are you just going to give up?"

"Hm?" He lifted his hat up slightly to corner his eye up at me.

"If you truly wish for a world without evil, then you wouldn't stop here. You'd find a way to get past that seal and dispose of the scum plaguing the planet!" I could feel myself getting worked up, which was extremely unnatural for me. Since when did I care so strongly for another's opinion? Since when did I feel helpless when someone else gave up?

He lowered his hat again and placed both arms behind his head, resting against the wall in a more comfortable position. "Ah already know of a way ta get past that thing, but Ah can't pull it off..."

"And why not? What makes it so impossible?" It could be because he's my last life line... If he gives up, then my life is over too...

"Tha fact that Ah'm not a Unicorn, that's what."

_Then, it's a spell?_

"What about me? Do you think I could cast it? I have a horn, so that should be enough."

"Nope."

The corner of my mouth momentarily flared up in frustration. "And why not!?"

"Look, Tenderfoot, all Ah'm sayin' is that yer not a strong enough Unicorn ta pull it off. Ah can see it in tha way ya stand, in the way ya speak. You've never used real magic before, only what they teach lil' fillies in tha play dens. But even if ya had used proper magic before, you'd need ta be a pretty darned strong Unicorn ta destroy a barrier made ta keep us 'outlaws' in. Only tha most powerful of Unicorns even know of this spell, after all."

_Then that doesn't make any sense..._

"Well, I don't see a horn on your head. So how come you know of such a spell?"

"...My mother told me..."

"...Go on."

"...My mother, Sally West, was tha toughest mare in Appleloosa. She may not have been an Earth Pony like everypony else, but she was tha best darn Unicorn either side of that boom town. One day, she sat down wit' me an' told me all about sommuva spells she learnt over tha years, prob'ly cus' none of them other Earth Ponies wanted ta hear about any of her magic. Ah can't remember any of tha stuff she said ta me that day, 'cept for one thing: 'Tha spell that'll fix me outta any jam'. Now, Ah don' like listenin' ta some borin' old tale with no endin' to it, an' that went fer her stories on magic and tha like too. But when she told me about that spell... she had that look to her eyes. A fierce, cattle-steering look that spoke ta me, told me Ah needed ta listen and remember, fer tha rest of my life. She knew that this would happen, that Ah would be stuck with nowhere to run, stopped by tha magic she loved so much. So Ah listened, an' Ah remembered each an' every lil' detail right to tha last second." He took a hoof out from behind his head and lightly tapped on his temple with it. "Ah got tha entire thin' written down in 'ere, as ta never have it lost or stolen. An' Ah'm pretty darn glad Ah remembered it, fer she never spoke none of it ever again..."

He sat there silently for a moment, not moving or making a single sound as I watched him.

"...But enough about tha past. All that matters is that it can bust us outta any jam, an' Ah don' think Ah need ta say that we're on tha wrong end of tha lasso fer this one, so it should come in mighty handy, right...? Well... whaddyou think, Tenderfoot?" He kept his eyes hidden under his hat, his head remaining completely motionless as he spoke.

_This man really is a tough one to figure out. He seemed like some justice-filled idiot at first, something I could control easily with little effort. But now... there's this melancholic feeling escaping from him, something that, for some reason, makes him seem much smarter than I had originally thought. I don't know what's going through his mind, how much he knows, or how impressionable he is. I can't control someone like that, so I'd rather just leave him be. But... he's my only ticket out of here, and I'm not going to rest until I break out!_

I declined my head, eyes facing the floor as I chuckled. "...So I just need to be a strong Unicorn, and you'll teach me the spell?"

The pony glanced up at me, a dreary look in his eyes. "That's what Ah'm sayin', pardner."

"Then," With a stroke of effort, two plumes of brown feathers erupted out from either side of me, falling into place as a pair of seemingly large and identical wings, "Would something along the line of me work?" As I rose my head up to meet his, a smirk befell my face from the sight of his.

He looked at me in near awe, eyes open and his lips partially parted. Then, with an attitude of coolness about him, his lips curved into calm simper. "Well, wouldya look at that. Wings an' a horn... guess that makes ya an Alicorn, huh? Well," He pushed off the cold ground with his fore-hooves, bringing him onto all four of his legs, "Guess that means we may as well try it."

"Glad you see it my way. Now it would be best to start imm-"

"Hold yer horses, Tenderfoot. We ain' practicin' jes' yet."

"...Heh, of course, how did I forget? With the guards around, it'll become blatantly apparent that we're up to something, which would most likely result in them separating the two of us and possibly bringing the both of us in to unnecessary questioning."

"Ya catch on quick, fer a greenhorn. Now, should we pass tha time wit' a few good stories? Ain' nothin' like tellin' a few tales while waitin' for chow ta arrive." He sat himself down opposite me, motioning for me to do the same. Once I had seated myself down, he pointed a hoof at me. "So why don' ya go first, Tenderfoot. Now's yer chance ta show me that yer not a broke-horse."

_He wants me to tell a story? No thanks._

"N-no, I think it'd be best if you told one first, seeing as how you've probably got stories I've never head of stashed away up there."

"What? Yer not gonna indulge this Cowpony with a good tale? Then how about Ah strike a deal with ya?"

_A... deal?_

"You tell me a good, honest-to-heart story, an' I'll tell ya some things Ah didn' mention about that spell."

_What? He was hiding pieces of information from me? Cocky-..._

I keep a falsely calm smile on, suppressing my irritation to the best of my ability. "So if I tell you a good story, you'll let me in on some info you've kept hidden from me?"

"That's right, Tenderfoot. It can be any story ya like. From things yer father told ya as a child ta anythin' that actually happen' ta ya. But Ah warn ya, a shoddy piece of work'll get ya nowhere fast."

_A story that's both true and fascinating... I think there's only one that he'll believe._

"Just to confirm, anything will suffice so long as it's both true and interesting?"

"Right. Anything else'll have ya barkin' at tha knot."

"Okay," I relax a bit since I'll be talking for a few hours, it wouldn't make sense to remain uncomfortable after all. "The only thing I have that's fits your description is an account of what I've seen and experienced over the past few weeks. Would that suit your liking?"

"Well that'll depend on ya story, wouldn't it?" He shot me an almost content smirk, cocking his head up to accommodate the expression.

_This is the forth time I've been forced into a decision since I arrived. If I want any chance at moving things in my direction I'll need to become more like the inhabitants of this world. But first, I should guarantee a form of escape from here._

"This is the only one I have, so I guess I've no choice but to leave that decision up to you." I close my eyes, recalling all of the events that have unfolded since my arrival here. "This story starts just over a month ago, when I first arrived in Equestria..."

* * *

**Well, as I _didn't _say up at the top, sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Lazy arse is lazy :P**

**Anyway, review on the good, the bad and the myeh!**

**Until next time,**

**Bye bi!**


	30. Not Chapter 30

**Hello, this is Alba. **

**Now I'm aware that some of you may be disappointed that this isn't chapter 30... and I plan to work on that... but I just felt it important to make a little update for anyone wondering what the hell I'm doing and where the newest chapter is.**

**First of all:**

**My college has an aggravating academic structure where we come back after all of our work and exams are finished for the year to get ready for next year's classes (despite there being a seven or eight week gap between when this period ends and when we come back :|). So, I'm currently knee-deep in work that easily surpasses the volume I've had to put up with for the entirety of my first year. Which is quite odd, seeing as how I'm taking the exams for the current topics in two years time, as per my request to retake the first year with different subjects.**

**Secondly:**

**I'm currently (or rather whenever I can) re-writing the entirety of TWOIK. I'm making minor changes here and major changes there, but it'll still be the same story, just much more visually and mentally appealing. It's mainly just errors and poor scripting being ironed out and replaced with shiny new letters that arrange prettier words in a less macabre fashion; because truth be told, I cringe sometimes while I edit the older chapters -_-**

**Thirdly!:**

**Well, there is no thirdly. I'm just really busy and improving earlier chapters.**

**Anyway, thank you to all of you whom didn't un-favourite/follow because of the long expanse of no production, and I hope to have Ch. 30 out within the next two months. But I'm not gonna make any promises, 'cus we all know where they go...**

**But before I say farewell for a while, I just want to make one little, absolute point: Do not make a a review on this 'chapter'. Though I appreciate the inclination that it's worth your time to make a written response, this is in no way a chapter of TWOIK and thus should not have any reviews placed on it. The "Send review" button is purely for leaving a critical viewpoint on the chapter/story you had just read, not to express your desire to read more or how excited you are to hear from me; that's what PMs are for. I'm not saying _not_to include anything of the sorts, but just to not allow your 'review' to be completely, or even mostly, comprised of it. On that note, I'd like to request that you don't leave a review on any chapter _unless_ you leave a justified negative comment about the chapter. I'm not perfect, and this story's nowhere near good enough to have a flawless chapter, so there is something negative to pick up on in every chapter. Whether it be a simple typo or grammatical flaw, or whether it's a complete and utter disgrace to the English language, I want it reported. And even if you feel or even know that someone else has already pointed out a/the correction that needs to be made, include it in your review anyway. Validating a point will never cause invalidity, especially if incessantly reminded as to why it's valid.**

**So, I'm going to work my arse off and try to hold to my hopes! :3 Arrivederci! **


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